The Pearl Trinity
by MadameX818
Summary: These are secrets that can only be shared between sisters. The tales of three pearls: White, Blue, and Yellow. How the sisters were separated. What they did to see each other again. How each one ended up where they are now. These stories can never be spoken aloud. They can only be told through letters. These are the memories that can't be erased, no matter how hard the sisters try.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Couldn't resist more Pearl stories! An AU where Pearl, Blue Pearl, and Yellow Pearl were made in the same Kindergarten and were "sisters." They all grow a close bond to each other when being trained and decided to keep in touch secretly through letters when they are sent to their respective Diamonds. All takes place pre-Rebellion. This is in no way connected to "Renegade Pearl." Remember favorite, follow, and review!**

* * *

When Pearls first emerged, they were blank slates, unremarkable and certainly not aesthetically pleasing. They hadn't been specially customized yet, so every Pearl looked drab and ordinary at first, with colorless hair and monochromatic tunics. They each were purely identical to each other: short hair, pale skin, graceful, lithe bodies designed for dancing, round innocent eyes, pointed noses, and perfect dainty hands.

After being hauled away from their Kindergartens, they were placed in training facilities, to mold them into becoming flawless servants. They were taught that they were little toys for their masters, their worth and value determined by them and them only. They were chastised into submission, learning that one mistake could lead to them being shattered.

 _Strive for perfection._

 _Your master's happiness is your only duty._

 _Nothing else should matter._

 _Not even your own happiness._

These words were drilled into their heads. There was a set of rules every Pearl must follow. Breaking them meant being broken themselves.

 _Your master expects you to be flawless, so never disappoint._

 _Every command from your master must be followed, no matter how grueling or humiliating._

 _Do not listen to anyone else's command, unless instructed._

 _Do not pay attention to other occupations; you could never be capable of doing it._

Every Pearl must learn of their value: they are common, they are expendable. Their master _will not_ hesitate to shatter them. They shouldn't expect to live long, because perfection can always be improved and renovated.

As much as they were alike, each Pearl had their differences from each other; they were just forced to hide it. Each Pearl in the training facility had their own story, but no one could ever bother to listen to it.

But that can change.

Three Pearls; each of them made on the planet Atheros, a terrestrial inner planet in the Geode System, each of them a little different from one another; this is their story.

How they met, how they grew together, how they were torn apart.

They considered themselves to be sisters, coming from the same planet and the same Kindergarten.

No one could care less about their sorrow, except for each other. No one could ever know them as much as they knew about each other. They were never afraid, because they had each other. Bonds like that were unbreakable . . .

. . . at least that's what they thought at first.

* * *

The so-called "sisters" didn't like referring to each other with their serial numbers; those were too long and tedious to say. So they liked calling each other Eldest, Middle, and Youngest, according to when exactly they popped out of the once-rich Atheros soil.

The eldest was undeniably curious. She often snuck out of her rest chambers to view all the bustling work outside of their facility. When their trainer wasn't looking, she often mocked her, if only briefly and silently. She was often scolded, getting into trouble because she did something that was wrong in the eyes of her trainer and didn't believe her actions deserved punishment. She never regretted her transgressions, always smiling after being rightfully chastised. If anything, she _liked_ being rebellious.

The other Pearls shook their heads in her direction, not wanting to get involved with her. She didn't care about the hostility directed at her; her sisters never got mad at her, so she ignored the others' discontent.

The middle sister emerged only a few minutes after the eldest, that fact often riled her up; mostly because she liked believing that _she_ was the leader. She was short-tempered and bossy, scolding her older sister when she got in trouble. But of course, she would never hold a grudge. She was a strict rule-follower and took pride in being a Pearl, something that was especially rare. The eldest liked to joke that she was just as bad as the trainers.

She didn't like showing it; but the middle one cared very much about her sisters' safety. She was definitely the most hostile between them, but she showed her gratitude towards them once in a while.

The youngest one was perfect in the eyes of her superiors. She was graceful, quiet, and never spoke unless spoken to, and according to the trainers, that was what the perfect Pearl should be. Even when the trainers weren't looking in her direction; she was still silent and pristine, simply out of her own preference. But she did little, unnoticeable things that would earn her punishment if done loudly, such as laughing softly at her older sister's mockery of Homeworld or allowing herself to peek out a window to admire the night sky.

She was the most sensitive out of the three; often the first one to cry. Her sisters had their pride to hold onto; she didn't. Since the trainers didn't want any of their Pearls to show emotion; the youth covered her eyes with a blanket of hair to conceal her pain and sorrow.

Her older sisters worried about her the most. While the eldest could easily protect herself and the middle could talk her way out of trouble, the youngest sister broke down the easiest. She was fragile and delicate; anybody could take a snap at her if they wanted.

They made a promise to keep her safe, no matter how far apart they were from each other.

* * *

The day had finally come.

Dismissal Day: when all those centuries of training finally ended, and each Pearl was sent to their masters.

The day before, Pearls were assigned their masters and customized according to the holographic design the Kindergartners were sent. Now every Pearl had their own color scheme and hairstyle.

They were still identical in a way; each one possessing some form of short pixie-cut and sheer tulle garment. But not one of them complained, since it was the first time they ever looked unique.

It was also the first time they shed their serial numbers; now being referred to by "(insert master's name)'s Pearl."

Since then, the Atheros trio decided to rename themselves for the sake of it.

The eldest sister was renamed White.

The middle sister was renamed Yellow.

And the youngest sister was renamed Blue.

Their new names corresponded with their new color schemes and masters. Coincidentally, they were all assigned Diamonds, the highest rank a Pearl could ever be assigned to.

"It's an honor you should value," their Kindergartners said.

Yellow arrogantly believed that they were chosen for the Diamonds because they were the best out of the batch.

White denied that, saying it was only a coincidence. Every Pearl was of the same value and model, so their names were merely picked out of a bowl.

Blue's opinion of it was unheard, but one could conclude she was afraid.

* * *

All the Pearls gathered in the lobby to bid each other goodbye and to get a glimpse of what the outside world looked like. Their Kindergartners surrounded them, staring at their screens to prepare the next batch of Pearls.

White was surprised when she was suddenly embraced by her youngest sister in a tight hug that was so unlike the stoic Blue.

"I'm going to miss you," Blue mumbled into her sister's neck.

She was closely followed by Yellow, who pried her off the eldest sister.

"This isn't the last time we'll be seeing each other," Yellow informed. "We're _Diamond's Pearls_ , and the Diamond Authority surely meets each other once in a while."

"This is the first time we'll be apart," Blue sniffled, gripping onto Yellow's waist and burying her face into her older sister's shoulder.

Yellow was never fond of physical contact, but she always made an exception for her little sister.

"I, for one, am excited," White boasted. "Finally, we're allowed outside of this pathetic facility."

"Shush," Yellow scolded, holding a finger to her lips. "The Kindergartners could hear!"

"They wouldn't care," White replied, shrugging her shoulders. "They're too busy preparing the next batch of Pearls. They're just as excited to see us go."

"You look beautiful," Blue commented on White's new outfit.

"It's still pretty drab in my opinion," White complained, fingering her colorless skirt. At first, she was excited to be personalized, but was shocked to see that White Diamond's design was just as boring as her old form.

Her hair now took on a pale silver color and was styled in a feathery pixie cut, brushed away from her face. She wore a pale tunic with a sheer wrap skirt that barely brushed her thighs; underneath it was a pair of gray leggings. A pair of gray ballet slippers adorned her feet. She envied her sisters' brighter color schemes.

"I think we look fantastic," Yellow bragged. Her new golden hair was styled in a bob-like fashion, similar to Yellow Diamond's iconic hair. Her clothes consisted of a light olive leotard with a keyhole neckline and frilly yellow sleeves that resembled the wings of a butterfly, yellow stockings, and a pair of cream-colored ballet flats.

Surprisingly, Blue Diamond let her Pearl keep her long bangs, since it was a style common in her court. Blue was clad in a strapless blue bodice with a flowing skirt made of a sheer fabric that reached her knees. She was barefoot and her color scheme was purely frost blue. Her eyes were a sparkling cerulean, but it didn't really matter since it was concealed behind a curtain of hair.

"You don't think we'll end up forgetting each other, right?" Blue whispered.

"That could never happen," White reassured.

"Not in a million years," Yellow added.

"We'll be so far apart," Blue quivered. "And you know what the Kindergartners say, once we are assigned, nobody but our masters will matter."

"We'll keep in touch," White chimed in. "We'll be given communicators to contact other Diamonds and we can talk to each other then. If not, letters will work."

"That'll take decades," Yellow whined.

"Better than being cut off from each other entirely," White retorted. "The Diamonds only meet each other during crisis, so we'll likely be planets away from each other. But we'll manage. We won't forget each other. We won't abandon each other. Promise me that."

"As long as you promise you won't get shattered on the first day," Yellow snorted. "You'll get me all worried and that is not attractive."

"That's sweet," White replied, knowing that was about as sentimental as Yellow could be.

Several bells began to chime, signaling that was time to be loaded onto the ship that would deliver them to their respective masters.

"It's time," Yellow gulped.

The three sisters all stared at each other uncomfortably. White pressed her lips together, trying to think of what to say. Yellow crossed her arms, pretending not to care but failing miserably.

Finally, the silence was broken by Blue.

"Together?" she asked, putting her hand in the middle of their circle.

White and Yellow smiled at her and put their hands in.

"Together," they all chanted.

* * *

 **A/N: The next chapters will be letters written by the sisters to each other. Rose will be included in this story. Don't forget to review, I'll probably update faster that way!**


	2. Chapter 1: Dear Yellow

_Dear Yellow,_

 _Yes, fortunately, I am indeed alive. I am perfectly capable disciplining myself without you or the Kindergartens. Don't deny it; you were worried for a while. Even when we are practically galaxies away from each other, I can still tell what you're feeling._

 _When we were being trained, all I could think about was what it was like out there in space, even though I was certainly not allowed to think about that. Now here I am, supposedly where I desired to be, outside of a cramped facility and in the real world, surrounded by other Gems and new experiences. I should have splendid stories to tell you._

 _I don't._

 _Why, you may ask? Let me tell you._

 _MY DIAMOND WON'T EVEN LET ME GO OUT!_

 _I can tell you for a fact that she doesn't even NEED a Pearl to take care of tasks she is too busy for. She simply wants a little ornament to stand by her side and look pretty. I see Gems of her court everywhere, actually being useful to some extent._

 _Then there I am, being eye candy, having no purpose at all._

 _I expected to make something out of myself, to have a meaning to my existence. But to White Diamond, that is not necessary._

 _If you ask me, if she wanted a statue for a servant, she could've just gotten a real one._

 _I wish I could say something out of my experience. To give you some sort of blissful relief that I am well enough on my own. But out of all the memories I've gathered in the last few cycles, I can't give you one good story to listen to._

* * *

"Is there anything I can do for you, my Diamond?" White asked once she was alone with her master.

The messenger had just dropped her off at White Diamond's temple, a massive and splendid mausoleum with soaring marble pillars and dome-shaped roofs. Ancient murals depicting bloody battles and historic Gem discoveries covered the high ceilings. Everything was monochromatic in terms of color scheme; various shades of whites and grays with the occasional hint of black or ivory.

White had not been to many places, but she could describe the temple as one of the most lovely places she's been in.

She had not met that many Gems either, usually greeted by Kindergartner Gems (like Peridots and Diopsides) or training instructors (like Topazes). And of course, millions of Pearls just like her. But she could easily say that White Diamond is perhaps the most intimidating Gem she's ever met.

White Diamond was of a massive size; almost triple the height of White herself. Her stark white hair was styled in large spikes, almost resembling a mane of needles. Her eyes were coal black in color with white pupils, practically hypnotic when White gazed into them. Her gemstone matched her Pearl's, to signify ownership. It was a flawless silvery-white gem with a diamond facet in the center. With her dramatic hair and eyes, along with her pointed shoulder pads and diamond-studded boots, White Diamond did not go for the elegant or classically beautiful aesthetic, instead choosing a far more authoritative and somewhat beguiling theme.

It could perhaps explain her Pearl's rather stiff and plain uniform.

"Please step forward," White Diamond commanded. Her voice was deep and authoritative, intense enough to shatter a Gem if she shouted.

White did as she was told, trembling in the slightest. She had heard the rumors that the Diamonds were especially finicky with their Pearls, willing to shatter them within a cycle of service. She could not risk her life now, especially when it practically just began.

"You're a pretty Gem, aren't you?" White Diamond spoke.

It sounded like a compliment, but it sounded harsh coming from her mouth.

White nodded in response. "Do you have any tasks for me?"

Her Diamond looked down at her new servant and chuckled softly. "Quite eager as well, I can see. We need to set out a few rules first."

"Of course," White said.

"First, you do not need to speak to anyone unless I tell you to," White Diamond began. "I am the only one you need to communicate freely with. Second, you must remain at my side at all times, if you ever _do_ wander away from my sight, I will not go off and to find you, so do not expect rescue during times of danger. And third—perhaps the most important rule—is to never disrespect me in public. Expect punishments when defying me."

White nodded. She memorized all of this when being trained; she didn't need to be told a second time. What she really wanted to do was to be useful.

"Can I do anything at all?" White asked. "You haven't prepared something for me to take care of?"

White Diamond looked at her servant inquisitively. "You are certainly more eager than my last few Pearls."

White's mouth snapped shut. She had disappointed—or even disgusted—her master. Would this lead to consequences?

Luckily, White Diamond didn't seem to be discontent. "I will give you orders when I need to. Until then, stay by my side and don't say a word until I say so."

White nodded in fear and rushed to her master's side, awaiting a command of any kind.

But her Diamond never gave her one.

* * *

 _Perhaps this is a good thing. I am not being overworked or chastised at all. I could be lucky for all I know. But this is not what I wanted. I wanted to explore other planets, to see and learn and experience like other Gems._

 _Maybe that was foolish of me to think that. As if that would be an opportunity in the life of a Pearl. If you were here, you would give me a reality check and then console me._

 _But you're not._

 _So as far as I can tell, I need to learn to comfort myself._

 _I miss you, but we've said that far too many times already._

 _So what can I say? Well, I guess I can say that I hope you're happier than I am right now. Remember to pass that on to Blue if you ever write her._

 _I think this might be a good time to end this letter, because if I don't, I might burst into tears over this new crippling loneliness._

 _Goodbye and good wishes, sister._

 _Sincerely, White_


	3. Chapter 2: Dear Blue

_Dear Blue,_

 _Be lucky I was able to send this. It had taken me forever to finally find a moment to write, especially since it had taken me even longer to find an old-fashioned sheet of parchment._

 _I had recently received a letter from White. She's alive and well, thank the stars. Honestly, I shouldn't be saying this, but, don't you ever wonder why White acts this way? I mean, she's a delight as always, but sometimes her behavior can be . . . drastically different from the others. She always finds a way to criticize our trainers back in the Pearl facility, albeit secretly. She's far smarter than she's supposed to be . . . and perhaps more inquisitive._

 _All of the Kindergartners say that every Pearl is supposed to physically and mentally identical, just like all other Gems. It's the way we're built, the way we're programmed. We're all made to be beautiful and submissive. How comes it's harder for White to be that way?_

 _What am I doing? She's our sister; I can't talk about her that way. And it's even worse to let you listen to it. You have never said anything bad about anyone throughout your entire life span. You would criticize me for this, if you were here with me._

 _Let me talk about my Diamond. She's just as stunning as the murals depict her as. You just cannot look into her eyes without feeling the sensation of both awe and fear. She's the most perfect leader I can imagine._

 _She's different than most masters. That I can definitely say. During training, we always thought our job required only standing and holding our masters' possessions. Yellow Diamond wants the opposite of that._

* * *

"Finally, the Kindergartners had gotten my Pearl just right," Yellow Diamond said once she laid eyes on her new servant. "It had taken over thirty batches to sculpt you correctly."

Yellow grinned in satisfaction, but quickly hid it away. She had passed the first test in pleasing her master.

The golden matriarch stood from her throne, displaying just how intimidating her presence can be. She was far taller than any Gem that Yellow had ever seen. She couldn't help but picture how easily it can be for her Diamond to shatter her. She only reached to Yellow Diamond's knee, which meant it could only take one stamp of her foot to break Yellow into a pile of shards.

Yellow Diamond's voice was smooth, elegant, and terrifying all at the same time. She both mesmerized and haunted Yellow.

"What I hope from you has nothing to do with your appearance, however," her master said. "Most of those who own Pearls waste their servants by having them stand and look pretty, as well as show them off. It's a shame that even my own sister Diamonds do the same, with Blue Diamond making her Pearls ever so frilly and White Diamond not even making her Pearl do or say anything at all."

Yellow's breath caught for a moment at the mention of the other Diamonds. So that was how her sisters were being treated right now. It did not give her a feeling a relief like she hoped it did.

"I do not want a little statue or doll to dress up," Yellow Diamond proclaimed. "I, unlike most other Gems, have important duties to uphold and I need assistance for the mundane tasks. I only hope that you know how to do other things than standing and looking nice."

"Y-yes, my Diamond," Yellow stuttered. The first time she's ever lied to a superior.

Yellow Diamond nodded in approval and led her Pearl to one of the many polished chrome dashboards that decorated her throne room. Her Diamond activated it with one of the special hand-scanners and several yellow-tinted holographic screens popped up, each one detailing reports about potential colonies.

"I don't expect that the Kindergartners teach you these things, so I might as well educate you on the basic tech skills you need to learn," Yellow Diamond said.

"Of course, my Diamond," Yellow said, relieved.

"I have many expectations for you, little one," Yellow Diamond added, making direct eye contact with her Pearl, which sent shivers up her spine. "Don't disappoint me like the others."

* * *

 _I can be proud to say that I've learned many new things from my experiences. I have the proud sentiment of being useful towards my master. They say that all Pearls serve their masters the same way; I'm proud to say that I've disproved that saying._

 _I only hope that your Diamond is only as wonderful as mine, because I only wish the best for you. And if not, then I can only wish for you to be strong, especially since you are without us._

 _Goodbye and good wishes, sister._

 _Sincerely, Yellow_


	4. Chapter 3: Dear White

_Dear White,_

 _I don't think I've ever been so lonely before. My Diamond doesn't allow me to speak unless she says so. Of course, I guess I haven't talked that much before either, but it still feels a bit stifling._

 _You would love it here if you were with me. Blue Diamond is always on the move, seeking out potential colonies and conversing with so many aristocrats. I've seen so many sights, even if it's from the sidelines. I can't seem to count how many times my Diamond has told me to move along and get onto the ship. We've been to so many places._

 _Also, I've met so many Gems. Well, I couldn't speak to them, but they have spoken to my Diamond so it was close enough. Blue Diamond has a massive court she meets with every day. They seem to flock her every move. I've memorized each and every one of their roles, just in case my Diamond needs me to._

 _There are Sapphires, who are perhaps the most unique Gem I've ever met. They are quite small in stature and not very useful on the battlefield, but they have a special ability that makes them a cut above the rest: future vision. I think it's quite fascinating. Each of them possess an all-seeing eye, and they lack a second one. Perhaps they don't need depth perception like we do. They are also extremely rare, which is why no one is allowed to even touch one without permission, with fear that they might break and become useless._

 _Another Gem type that has caught my eye are the Lapis Lazuli. They are also aristocrats and they too possess an ability that makes them so elite. They can manipulate water and use it to form structures and weapons. I've seen them do their work before; it's spectacular._

 _I could go on and on, but I have a feeling you would grow jealous. I know how much you wanted to see and explore. If it makes you feel any better, I'm not actually allowed to go anywhere without my Diamond, and since she usually spends the day conversing with diplomats and warriors, I have only seen great things, not experience._

* * *

Blue was in awe of everything she's seen so far. She was within a glorious Spire, one with glistening stairwells that lead to an observatory on the roof. Elite Gems were scattered about, admiring the starry sky above them.

Her Diamond was positioned in the middle, sitting upon a polished throne surrounded by airy curtains. She had placed Blue next to her to stand and act as decoration.

Blue followed protocol on what to do. She stood absolutely still, with her hands clasped and against her chest, careful not to touch the life force that was her gemstone. She was ready for anything her master might want her to do, whether it be to display a hologram or to retrieve something from her pocket dimension. It had already been stocked with various treasures her Diamond trusted her to keep safe. She tried her best not to wonder what they were for.

Sometimes, she could see the interior of her dimensional storage. It was spacious within, despite the size of her gemstone, made to fit possibly thousands of items. It appeared to be a soft oasis filled with sea mist and pools of water. Little treasures speckled the ground, stored safely inside.

Blue could only see this little world only when her Diamond requested her to put something away or take something out. And it was mostly for brief stretches of time. She wondered if she was poofed, she could be able to go inside her pocket dimension. But she never liked thinking what it would be like to get poofed. It sounded terrifying.

Blue kept her gaze fixated to the ground, but her eyes kept wandering to the world beyond the Spire walls. Displayed in front of Blue Diamond's court was a rocky, delicate landscape that was divided into multiple swatches of floating soil. Gem structures such as Communication Hubs and various Spires for entertainment for the elite (such as this one) dotted the colony, populated by workers and the lower-class, perhaps tinkering away as their superiors danced lavishly.

What did this world look like before Gems inhabited it? The floating islands connected by bridges of earth were certainly not naturally occurring, so the geography of the former planet must have been flat and centered by gravity. And of course, you would have to take away all the Gem-cultured buildings and Kindergartens away. What would be left is a mystery.

Suddenly, Blue felt a massive hand tilt her head back towards the throne. She locked eyes with her Diamond, whose face showed nothing but placid calmness.

She expected to be chastised for breaking protocol, but Blue Diamond's words came out soft instead of furious.

"Keep your eyes where I can see them," Blue Diamond instructed her, stroking her chin fondly before returning her attention to the party.

Blue's chest felt like collapsing after taking in a silent breath of relief. She continued to do just as her master told her.

She wondered what would happen if she wasn't so lucky.

* * *

 _I can't really think of anything else to say except I miss you. Yellow also says hello. She's doing quite well and seems to be happy. Her Diamond is instructing her about technology. Your duties may be mundane, but at least they're easy._

 _Goodbye and good wishes, sister._

 _Sincerely, Blue_


	5. Chapter 4: Dear Blue

_Dear Blue,_

 _I was this close to snapping completely. The life I have here was so mundane and eventless that I could've easily poofed myself and never come out. But my Diamond has been summoned by one of her sisters, Pink Diamond, and she says that it's an emergency (whatever it is, I don't really care)._

 _Finally, something that doesn't involve standing by White Diamond's side and count the minutes go by. When I first heard of White Diamond's rules, I thought they were typical things to expect from a master. But now I know how strenuous it is to actually perform them. I'm not allowed to ever leave my master's sight. So wherever she goes, I go, but it's not like there are many places she actually goes to. White Diamond has been fabled to be not very involved with Homeworld's government and I can surely say that's true. All I ever see her do is sit on her throne and speak to some of the various Gems in her court (none of which are interesting)._

 _I don't think I have ever envied you more, Blue._

 _But when my Diamond and I have gone to consult with Pink Diamond, I've met someone rather . . . fascinating._

White realized every single Diamond in the government has a different aesthetic and that many of the Gems in their court copied it. White Diamond is stiff and practical, Blue Diamond is elegant and sleek, Yellow Diamond is militaristic and orderly, and Pink Diamond is dressy with a certain fondness for the pretty things.

Pink Diamond was every inch as imposing and authoritative as White Diamond, but unlike her sister, she appeared to be softer and more down-to-earth, so strange for someone so high up. Her skin was a pale pink color with her hair being a darker magenta tone, styled in smooth ringlets. She wore an asymmetrical gown with a long skirt that revealed her bare legs and a high-collared luxurious coat to signify her office. If anything, she looked more interesting than White Diamond.

Pink Diamond possessed a Pearl as well, but White had no intention to talk to her though. She seemed silent and docile, just as a Pearl should be but somehow, Pink Pearl acted a lot like a pet, sometimes. It made sense, actually, since Pearls are in a way, pets.

Diamonds always had personal guards to stand by them for protection, and Pink Diamond was no exception. But while White Diamond usually had a pair or two of Smoky Quartzes with her, Pink Diamond was only guarded by one guard: a Rose Quartz.

White knew she wasn't allowed to observe to her, or even look at her in general, but she just knew one thing about the Rose Quartz: that she was perhaps the most beautiful Gem White has ever laid eyes on (which wouldn't be exactly accurate considering during training, White hadn't even met many Gems).

Rose Quartz possessed long flowing locks of pink ringlets; similar in style to her superior, but it was thicker and messier than Pink Diamond's. She had the trademark stocky, muscular body of a Quartz, but lacked the brutish and imposing presence a Quartz soldier had. She wore a long billowy white dress that reached the floor and concealed her legs. Her gemstone was located on her navel, just like her superior.

"Please wait outside," White Diamond commanded her Pearl. "Pink and I have much to discuss."

Pink Diamond said the same as her sister towards her own Pearl and guard. "I'll be back shortly," she reassured them.

The Diamond Authority-emblazoned door was sealed shut and left in three Gems in absolute silence. Pink Pearl seemed to be expert in ignoring utter awkwardness, choosing to spend her time standing still as always and absent-mindedly picking at her fingers.

White shuddered thinking that she might end up like that one day.

The young Pearl kept to herself and began to count the minutes once more, as she always does, in complete apathy and boredom. But eventually, she was startled by a calm and soothing voice.

"Hello there," the voice greeted.

White gasped in surprise and looked up, locking eyes with the Rose Quartz, who was smiling at her (and not in a threatening way). She stumbled backwards, nearly collapsing against a wall.

"Sorry for surprising you," Rose immediately apologized. "I know Pearls aren't supposed to speak to anyone, but you looked so bored over there."

White's throat went dry. She has never experienced this type of emotion before. It felt like a warm fog has overtaken her body and was now infecting every photon of her being. And shockingly, it felt wonderful.

Rose looked back at Pink Pearl, whose eyes were now darting around like she was following some sort of imaginary particle.

"She's a bit strange, but can be very affectionate," Rose said. "She reminds me of a little organic creature."

White knew she wasn't supposed to speak to Rose, but she wanted to so badly. She didn't what it was, but it almost felt like there was an aching aura around Rose that she was so desperate to feel for some reason.

White kept her lips clapped together, knowing that her Diamond would surely have a punishment waiting for her if she was caught conversing with Pink Diamond's guard.

Rose nodded, as if she could read White's mind. "You're right; we shouldn't be speaking; how inappropriate of me."

When Rose went back to standing over Pink Pearl, White couldn't help but think there was a missed opportunity.

 _If Yellow heard about this, she would be so mad. Quartzes are supposed to be intimidating brutes, but I can't help but feel that Rose is different. I don't what I can even call this feeling. I haven't even spoken to her; why do I even feel this way?_

 _You don't have any answers, Blue; you're just as clueless as I am right now. But I just really needed someone to vent out about this to. And you are much more understanding than Yellow, so whatever you do, never breathe a word about this to her. Promise me that._

 _Goodbye and good wishes, sister._

 _Sincerely, White_


	6. Chapter 5: Dear White

**A/N: Sorry, this chapter came so late, I've been struggling with ideas on where this would go. But thankfully, I came up with something. Reviews would really help these chapters go by faster.**

* * *

 _Dear White,_

 _I don't think you should be feeling this way._

 _I mean, of course, who I am to tell you what to feel but this seems to be something dangerous. Rose Quartz is a highly-skilled warrior and the second-in-command of Pink Diamond, who is someone you shouldn't even be worrying about. The only person who's supposed to matter is your master._

 _We're in a different place than Rose Quartz. She's made to protect and fight and we're made to look pretty and entertain. I think that if she was really that kind; it would only be to get on White Diamond's good side. We're not supposed to get involved with her. Whatever you're feeling about her, you might end up getting shattered over it._

 _Maybe it's just how Pink Diamond trains her Quartzes. I've met many of Blue Diamonds, and they're not exactly the friendly type. When Gems are assigned to their Diamonds, they're arranged by color, so every Diamond has their brand of Quartz. Yellow Diamond owns Jaspers and Lemon Quartzes, Pink Diamond has Rose Quartzes, your Diamond commands Smoky Quartzes and Milky Quartzes, and my Diamond owns Amethysts and Aventurines._

 _Perhaps Pink Diamond likes her soldiers to be respectful._

 _My Diamond doesn't._

 _I've seen how Quartzes treat their Pearls; it's not exactly pretty. And I don't want you to end up getting hurt._

* * *

A broad-shouldered, intimidating Amethyst stood between Blue Diamond and Blue. Her skin was a lilac color and her silvery pale hair flowed to her knees in feathery tufts. She was clad in the signature uniform Blue Diamond's army wears and her muscles rippled from underneath it.

Her dark blue eyes kept flitting over towards Blue. The young Pearl tried her best not to make eye contact with the Quartz. Deep down inside, she wondered if Amethyst could sense something wrong with her. Of course, that couldn't be true since Blue was just freshly made, but the way the purple Gem looked at her, it felt somewhat condescending.

Perhaps that was how all Quartzes viewed Pearls. It would only make sense.

Finally, Amethyst turned her head towards her Diamond and said, "When did you get your Pearl?"

Blue Diamond shifted her eyes to make contact with her guard and answered, "She's brand new, latest batch made. Cultivated from Atheros, I believe."

This was normal talk between elite Gems. Pearls were known to be possessions that foretold of your status on Homeworld, so naturally, Gems tried their best to customize their Pearl to the best possible. Even though every Pearl is naturally the same as all the others, masters would often brag that their Pearl was more efficient than the other Pearls belonging to their friends. It was why elite Gems would always upgrade as fast as they could and study other Pearls to ensure more bragging opportunities.

Sometimes, Blue would see a Pearl that actually resembled her. It was a sign that Blue Diamond's court took their superior's opinion very seriously.

Amethyst held out her hand and asked her Diamond, "May I?"

Blue Diamond nodded in response, a proud smirk on her face.

Blue didn't know what they were talking about until she felt Amethyst's beefy fingers brush against her delicate arm. She tensed up a little, a nervous shiver running up her spine. She's seen other masters compare their Pearls like this, and it felt much more invasive than it looked. She wasn't supposed to show any discomfort however; masters always expected obedience from their Pearls, which meant no matter what, there was no such thing as an embarrassing task.

Blue kept still as a statue as she felt Amethyst's fingers brush up against her shoulder, then across the smooth gemstone on her chest, and then she felt the purple Gem's hand move towards something even more discomforting than the last. She looked towards her Diamond ever-so-slightly to see if her master would tell her subordinate to stop, but she wasn't even looking in her direction, simply letting her warrior observe her Pearl so inappropriately.

Finally, the Amethyst completed her observations and lifted her hand off of Blue, but not before a strange and uncomfortable squeeze of her shoulder. Blue felt more than relieved afterwards, like she finally possessed her body again.

"More than pleasing," Amethyst commented, which earned a content smile from her Diamond. "I would have to take your advice on your customization."

"Upgrading again?" Blue Diamond asked nonchalantly. Unlike the other Diamonds, Blue Diamond kept track of every Gem in her court and remembered their names and daily schedules. It was her way of charming her subordinates.

"Yes," Amethyst answered. "My Pearl wasn't satisfactory enough. But it's only a natural part of picking the right servant. Some of them don't even last a full week."

Her words were said so lazily but it seemed so chilling towards Blue. One day, she would be considered an old model: ancient, irrelevant, worthy of shattering.

 _Some of them don't even last a full week._

Pearls were easy to procure and simple to customize and upgrade. One could gather an entire army of them in a day. It would be so simple to replace. Pearls were common and delicate, so it's not a crime at all to waste one, not when there are so many left around. That was simple Homeworld logic.

Blue thought of her older sister, White. What would happen if she slipped up, even for a second?

* * *

 _Don't think of Rose so much, my sister. She wouldn't be worth the time. I'm only looking out for you, which is ironic, considering you're older. But we both know that no matter how much we desire it, how much_ you _desire it, we would never be equal to them. It's only how things work._

 _Goodbye and good wishes, my sister_

 _Sincerely, Blue_


	7. Chapter 6: Dear Yellow

One of the hardest things about being a Pearl is that everyone expects you not to feel anything. After all, who would ever feel pity for a Gem who is merely a shiny add-on for her master? Pearls do not care about their own happiness, nor should they ever aspire to be happy. The only thing that matters is their master.

The only thing that could ever make a Pearl lose her quiet dignity is for her master to die. Only then does her purpose die out, and only then would there be any reason to feel.

But White knows that she's feeling something.

A strange desire; one that can't be ignored of snuffed out, one that burns inside of White's chest. And it always seems to activate whenever Pink Diamond's trusted guard is around. Pure curiosity seems to spark whenever White is in close proximity to her.

 _How long has she lived as Pink Diamond's guard?_

 _What planet was she cultivated from?_

 _Why is she so beautiful?_

Questions usually do cloud White's mind, but not ones that seem so personal.

She has to fight the urge to stare at her lovely dark eyes, to notice the way they sparkle with life, to ever breathe a word around her. She's not allowed to indulge herself with Rose's company. After all, she shouldn't care about her; her master is the only Gem she should concern herself with.

But still, it doesn't get rid of the aching feeling inside.

White is forced to see Rose every day, since the strange matters Pink Diamond and White Diamond must discuss aren't thoroughly solved yet. Sometimes, Rose is accompanied by another Gem of her kind, but White always know which one was the Quartz that spoke to her, without fail.

Rose Quartz usually spends her time conversing with Pink Pearl, who isn't even her own Pearl (and sometimes White wonders if she even owns one). Well, it seems to be more of a one-sided conversation, since Pink Pearl doesn't speak; instead she simply reacts to Rose's words with hand gestures and occasional nods.

And White is forced to stand in a corner and admire Rose from afar.

And things only get worse when Blue's response finally arrives to White Diamond's stations.

Blue was only looking out for her; White knew that, but she expected a bit more sympathy from her youngest sister. Perhaps Blue has more of a voice than White had previously thought.

But what White desired most was someone to talk to, to understand. And no Gem of any higher class would ever sympathize with a Pearl.

Setting out some old-fashioned parchment and a pen, White thought of her younger sister, Yellow, and how her job had taken a more efficient turn, taking calls for her Diamond and her access to reports previously written by more ancient Gems.

Perhaps she can vent out to Yellow after all.

* * *

 _Dear Yellow,_

 _I know how much you brag about usefulness towards your Diamond, how you filter her messages and organize her files. And I know I have nothing to do but stand idly by my Diamond and stare into space. But your access to knowledge can actually help me._

* * *

White bit her lip thinking of excuses of why she's asking this favor from her sister. Yellow was stubborn, especially when it came to breaking rules. She didn't want a lengthy response from Yellow listing various laws that prevent her from doing so. So she had to make something believable.

* * *

 _I'm always curious about the Gem system. You know how much I love complaining about it. So I'm wondering: could it be possible to look up something about Quartzes for me?_

 _Please don't scream at me for asking this. I know what you're going to say._

" _How dare you actually believe I would do this for you? Do you want me to get shattered? Do_ you _want to be shattered? What could you possible gain from this?"_

 _Gems with purposes are so fascinating to me. The way they're programmed, the protocol they follow, how they feel about other Gems. I know you might have the key to the answers I crave so much._

 _It won't take long anyways, just search for information about Rose Quartzes. And you could easily come up with an excuse for doing so if your Diamond catches you. I know how persuasive you can be. It won't be a bother for you._

* * *

White imagined her sister clutching at the letter with white-knuckled fingers, muttering swears about her while at the same time being slightly concerned. She needed a way to persuade her into doing this for me.

* * *

 _You're my sister. We promised each other that light years cannot break us apart, won't make us abandon each other. We're supposed to help each other out, be a little leg up, especially when no one else cares about us. I thought being assigned to a Diamond wasn't going to change that. I thought you cared about me more than your duty._

* * *

She felt bad for manipulating her sister like that, but it wasn't like she was asking for her sister to run away from her Diamond's hands. Now that was a crime. She felt a little invasive and even a little perverted to beg for information about Rose Quartzes but she needed solace that what she felt wasn't defective programming.

* * *

 _While you're at it, would it be much trouble to look up something about programming Pearls? Don't ask; it's a little personal. Don't judge me either. I can just imagine your disapproving eyes right now. But sisters are there for each other. You wouldn't want to break the promise we made each other back in the facility._

 _If you decide not to do so, then just don't respond. I don't need to a letter detailing things I already learned from training. But if you do, provide me with enough details to fill one side of a piece of paper. You're the best._

 _Goodbye and good wishes, sister._

 _Sincerely, White_

* * *

 **A/N: Steven Universe is coming back in May! *throws confetti and Cookie Cats everywhere**

 **I almost wasn't going to update today, since I was a little busy from crying tears of joy. It's coming in three weeks, yay! Please leave a review, it would definitely encourage me out of the writing block I've been having for a while. And if it's not too much trouble, please check out my one-shot collection about Rose Quartz (I'll give you a bowl of Fry Bits if you do).**


	8. Chapter 7: Dear White

_Dear White,_

 _I just have to say this before I continue on writing._

 _YOU ARE INSANE!_

 _I honestly don't know why you think it is okay for you to make me do this. You can be so careless sometimes about your actions. You clearly have retained nothing from our lessons in the training facility. You almost tempted me to write out everything the trainers drilled into our heads. But you specifically told me not to, so that's the only thing stopping me from lecturing you._

 _But if you want to know this so badly, perhaps I can help you. Sisters don't turn their back on each other, after all. Why must this be necessary to you, though? Does White Diamond not have any Quartzes guarding her? My Diamond consults with her army almost daily, being head of military on Homeworld. But, of course you can't ask them, it'll be a sure route to shattering. I looked on Yellow Diamond's database like you wanted me to and retrieved this information._

 _Quartzes are a soldier caste. Made to fit the role of an elite warrior, Quartzes have incredible height, broad shoulders, and an intimidating muscular build. They vary in size and color, but all are quite proficient in battle. Rarer types of Quartz are favored by the Diamond Authority for their higher value, although it has been shown that most Quartzes are equal in matters of strength and power. Their abilities and rarity makes them exclusive amongst other warrior-type Gems and are considered to be superior, often becoming high-ranked military leaders and even second-in-commands to Diamonds._

 _A rare form of Quartz, especially valued by Pink Diamond, is the Rose Quartz. They are marked as defensive soldiers and are built to protect rather than attack. Their weapon is a shield that can hold up to any damage, including energy cannons. Their shield can become any size they desire and can be used offensively as a throwing weapon. A special ability they possess that is highly treasured is their healing tears, which can repair damaged objects and heal cracked gemstones, the only known substance that can do so. It is also known that their healing tears can activate organic plant life and give them sentience, creating a golem-like army._

 _There, are you happy?_

 _I know it's not my place to ask you this but what kind of use do you have to gain from this information? If this is a task for your Diamond, why can't you access it yourself? I can only guess that she doesn't allow you to go on the Diamond Authority database but if she doesn't, then why did she task it to you in the first place? You, my sister, are a Gem of mystery._

 _Honestly, what's so fascinating about these disgusting brutes anyways? I've seen them fight first hand and it's not pretty. I cannot insult or question my Diamond in any way but she has a special purpose for her Quartzes and in my opinion, it's sort of . . . disturbing._

* * *

Floating Arenas are a common Gem structure found on colonies. Suspended in the air by forces only known as magic, they are rich vast symbols of Gem history. Mostly used as gathering areas for elite Gems and their Diamonds, they also have another purpose: sparring duels between Quartzes. Those events are mostly used for training purposes, but every so often, elite Gems would gather to watch in the seating areas and place bets, almost like a form of entertainment. Diamonds are often involved in these duels and Yellow Diamond is an avid watcher of these duels.

Rules are established of course: shattering is absolutely forbidden, and it can be punishable by harvesting. Cracking gemstones is also a penalty, but punishments are less severe, especially if there is a healer present. Duels also cannot be used to settle out disputes; it was used before several eras ago, but now the Diamonds have found more rational ways to settle arguments. Other than that, Quartzes who spar with each other in these duels can use any technique they desire.

Besides for training purposes, these duels almost have no practical gain from this. Simply making allies battle each other when there is no war involved can be seen as barbaric and pointless.

Until Yellow Diamond crafted something up to gain from this.

"My Diamond," Yellow asked as she placed herself beside her master's throne. "What is so special about this duel? Why do we need to make ourselves present?"

Yellow Diamond only smirked in response before answering. "Today is a special treat for all to see. And a figure of authority must be here for these special duels. This particular one doesn't involve any training purpose at all."

"It doesn't?" Yellow said anxiously. "Then what is the point? Why are so many Gems look so nervous?"

It was true; many of the Gems sitting below them look relatively tense as they stared out into the Arena. From what Yellow could see, no one was making any bets or offering to strike an argument about the soldiers. Some of the Gems even had the audacity to sneer for a brief moment as they looked up at their Diamond.

Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes for a moment. "I'll explain it to you, and I'm only excusing your incompetence because you are new. I expect you not to repeat these kind of questions to me."

Yellow bit her lip. She always prided herself in never disappointing her master, so this was the first time she was being scolded.

Her master drew in a deep breath before she explained. "Today, one of our most esteemed soldiers is dueling today," she said proudly. "One of my top Citrines would be going against a Turquoise."

"W-what, but Turquoises aren't warriors, why is she dueling today?" Yellow gasped.

A twisted smile appeared on her master's face. "Because she has pleaded innocent and chosen to fight for her freedom," she said.

Yellow's face went completely white. "Are you saying—doesn't that mean—the Citrine is fighting . . .?"

"Yes, my Pearl," Yellow Diamond said. "I'm saying that this particular Turquoise is a _prisoner_."

Yellow couldn't hold back her shock. "But why would you allow that? We're letting a possible criminal back into the society you rule, how can you let that happen? That's completely stupid—"

Her master interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. "She'll only be let back into society if she wins this match."

Dumbfounded on how her master could let this happen, Yellow silenced herself and returned her gaze towards the match. Deep down, she felt that this was barbaric and absurd. How could possibly be allowed? This was letting traitorous Gems reclaim their freedom, letting them continue their anarchy upon Homeworld's pristine society. Why was her master so calm about this?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the crowd beneath her roared and forced her to look at the action in the Arena. An enormous Citrine was welcomed into the pit with screams of adoration and respect. She practically rippled with confidence as she flexed her arms and summoned her weapon from her gem: a magnificent scythe.

In another corner was a group of frustrated looking Rubies, hauling a link of chains that ensnared a frightened Turquoise at the wrists, tugging her with much needed malice? She was skinny and frail, much like Yellow Pearl herself, and her frazzled pale blue hair reached her knees, emphasizing her delicacy. Yellow had no idea how she ended up being imprisoned.

The crowd jeered and shrieked at her presence, some of them staring her dead on with wicked glares and some of them shielding themselves from her, believing her to be dangerous, despite her obviously unintimidating stature. The Turquoise froze when she saw her opponent and continued to summon her weapon: a rapier sword.

A Ruby stood in the center, between the two fighters and announced loudly, "Let the duel begin!" immediately moving out of the way as the Citrine began to charge.

The Turquoise looked doomed from the start, with the way her flushed pure blue when she noticed her opponent's attack. Yellow was expecting an instant takedown when the little Turquoise gave everyone a little surprise: she blocked the attack with her sword with no relative hesitation.

Gasps and screams rattled the stands, filling Yellow with anxiety as she witnessed the Turquoise strike a blow into her opponent before retreating. She could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she watched the Citrine swing her scythe around with an aggravated scowl on her face. But her opponent kept ducking and blocking attacks with impressive speed and agility.

Seemingly tired with defense attacks, the Turquoise gained new confidence and managed to strike down the Quartz in front of her, causing her bulky body to collapse on the floor. Everyone held their breath as they watched the action unfold in front of them. A prisoner was going to escape with no consequences at all. And their Diamond was letting this happen.

Scared, Yellow turned towards her Diamond, who was staring at the scene with absolutely no change in expression. How could she be looking at this so calmly? Doesn't she realize how this will affect her reputation?

Outraged, the Citrine clutched her gemstone again and just when her opponent was about to tackle her down, she summoned another scythe and struck it deep into the Turquoise's chest . . . right where her gemstone was located.

The pieces of her gem fell away from her body like scattering rain, showering the scowling Citrine with its shards. With a final crack and burst, the Turquoise exploded into dust, clouds clearing away to reveal the Citrine only smiling with a wicked kind of confidence, despite being covered with splinters of gemstone.

Yellow felt dizzy. For once, she didn't know what to say. She didn't know what the Turquoise did to deserve to be thrown into a cell, but wasn't this justice? But this was also against the rules. Shattering was the only rule involved in this duels. How could this happen?

Everywhere she looked, Yellow saw various Gems sigh with relief, like this wasn't a huge rule breaking. She didn't understand why this was happening. She thought actions had consequences but if they did, how could the Citrine be welcomed back? She had committed a crime . . . against a criminal?

"A little shocked, aren't you?" Yellow Diamond asked, finally noticing her servant's gaping mouth.

"She—she broke the rules," Yellow stuttered. "She should be punished—why are you letting her get away with this?"

"Because, my Pearl," Yellow Diamond intoned. "The rules don't apply when it comes to scum like that Turquoise. Trust me; it's not a waste to get rid of them."

* * *

 _I don't know what you want to do with this, but you do you, even if what you are is a bit crazy. All I'm hoping is that you're not going to get into trouble. Because remember, I won't be there to help you out of it._

 _Goodbye and good wishes, sister._

 _Sincerely, Yellow_


	9. Chapter 8: Dear Blue

White really didn't know what to write to Blue. She had aching news to tell her but . . . she knew her little sister would be disappointed in her for not listening. But there was no one to talk to.

After all, who would listen to anything a Pearl would say?

Her fingers trembled nervously as she scrawled on the parchment. Blue always understood. She had never judged White for anything before (that was more of Yellow's job). Nothing would make Blue mad at her.

And if she was, Blue wouldn't tell her.

* * *

 _Dear Blue,_

 _I've did the unthinkable. Remember when my Diamond ordered me to never talk to anyone else without permission?_

 _Well, I seemed to have forgotten that rule for a moment._

 _White and Pink Diamond have been discussing issues about the recent harvesting problems nonstop lately (something about delayed births and possible defective batch) so I have been in Pink Diamond's quarters for who knows how long._

 _You really can't blame me for getting bored._

 _It's always the same routine every cycle. Follow my Diamond to Pink Diamond's control room and wait outside with her Smoky Quartz bodyguards. And then Rose Quartz and Pink Pearl are always there. Something about Pink Pearl disturbs me like she's a whole new creature entirely, instead of a normal Pearl. I can't help but wonder if that's normal for Pearls. Rose always talks to her though, ruffling her hair and touching her, treating her like she is her Pearl and not her superior's._

 _A new feeling always washes over me whenever I see Rose talking to Pink Pearl._

 _And that has led to me completely disregarding my Diamond's rules._

* * *

Pink Pearl had always been odd in White's eyes but what she was doing now was really unsettling to look at.

The older Pearl was now pressing her face against the cool crystal of the windows that overlooked the unfinished colony they had settled on. Her lips were mushed against the cold clear surface and her eyes darted around curiously, like she was as clueless as a newborn Gem. What really disturbed White was that she herself behaved that way when she first emerged and this other Pearl was perhaps centuries older than her!

White Diamond's guards only rolled their eyes when they witnessed Pink Pearl's strangeness. Rose had walked up to her master's Pearl and smiled at how much funs she was having.

Meanwhile, White was staring at the bizarre scene with the most confused expression.

"What the stars could she possibly be looking at?" White muttered to herself.

She took a quick glance at the Diamond Authority-emblazoned door, still sealed shut as always. If she stepped close enough, she could hear the two Diamonds voices overlapping each other. They were still busy. And according to the bored blank stares of the two Smoky Quartzes standing by the door, so were White Diamond's bodyguards. They couldn't possibly care less if White moved away from her spot.

So that's what she did.

Achingly curious about what could possibly be so interesting to Pink Pearl, she peered out the massive window and looked down. The scene before her massively shocked her into complete silence. Below Pink Diamond's towers was an endless stretch of bluish green fields, dotted with strange organisms, that in White's eyes, resembled stars if they came in wild colors such as orange, pink, and blue. They bristled softly in the breeze, accompanied by fresh flowing bodies of water that White Diamond's informants call "rivers," that cut through the grassy meadows like a sharp knife, deep blue in color crested with white.

The reason White has never saw this before was because she was always traveling by Warp Pad, along with her Diamond. She had spent her entire experience on the colony inside of various Gem structures, never even looking outside once.

The colony she was in—Bellona was its name—was only 15% finished in colonization, which was why the life was still lush and untouched. But everything would change once the Kindergartens finish their jobs.

She has never seen anything more stunning.

"Looks like you're a bit curious too," Rose's soft, familiar voice wavered through White's mind, causing her to stiffen and nearly knock her forehead against the window (which could've caused her to crack).

White shuddered with both surprise and strange delight when she locked eyes with Rose, staring into the depths of her almost-black pupils.

"This colony is so beautiful to me," Rose chuckled, gazing out the window herself. She paused for a moment before adding, "Almost a shame that it has to be dried up so quickly." White didn't understand it too well, but she could almost detect a bit of sadness in Rose's voice.

"What is the Diamond's having trouble with anyways? Progress seems to be fine with me," the words rush out of White's mouth before she could even comprehend what she was saying. Immediately, she bites her lip before she could add anything stupid.

Rose stares at her in surprise for a brief moment, perhaps because it was the first time White even spoke in front of her, but she regained her composure quickly before answering. "My Diamond tells me it's because of the recent Kindergarten failures. None of the Facets have purged any new Gems and it's far past its due date. She worries that all of the new batches are late and that all of the newborns will be defective."

She sounded quite sullen as she said that, but a smile was still plastered on her face.

"Luckily," Rose added. "We have a chance to admire Bellona's beauty before it's all ripped away from us."

White couldn't help but glance over at Pink Pearl gazing out the window, a stupid grin plastered on her face. "Does she seem odd to you?" White asked, her knees noticeably shaking as she speaks to Rose.

Rose only shrugged in response. "How am I supposed to know how Pearls work? I don't even own one myself."

"You don't?" White gasped a bit too loudly. Blushing, she looked behind her just to check if her Diamond's bodyguards heard.

"I don't think I would ever need one," Rose chuckled. "Sorry if that's bit offensive. But I do adore Pearls. White Diamond seems to be pleased with you."

White couldn't stop the blush that was crawling up her cheeks like a warm blaze.

Rose didn't seem to take notice. "Well, it was nice to finally hear your voice," Rose said playfully as she returned to her original spot next to Pink Pearl.

* * *

 _I only hope you're not mad at me for not listening to you. That's the last thing I want to happen between us. Hope all is well with you._

 _Goodbye and good wishes, my sister._

 _Sincerely, White_


	10. Chapter 9: Dear Yellow

_Dear Yellow,_

 _I'm worried about White._

 _I know that's more of your job, especially since nothing pleases White more than to get on your nerves, but lately, I've been connecting certain "aspects" about her with some things that are . . . a little gruesome._

 _My Diamond and I have been traveling to so many colonies and now we're stationed on a recently finished one called Aurelia, a rather large and boisterous planet whose harvest has been long completed. Nostalgia has been filling me up lately; since my Diamond and I are checking progress on training facilities._

 _Never did my memory clear up so suddenly when I first stepped foot inside of the Gem learning grounds. Vivid images of hard labor and discipline filled my head when I first breathed in the air. It brought back some . . . rather unhappy recollections but nonetheless stunned me._

 _We even stopped by a Pearl facility. You wouldn't believe how enamored I was with déjà vu. The young Pearls all stared at me with a feeling that others told me was admiration but appeared to be more like envy when you look back at it. I wished I was able to speak to them but we had to be moving quickly. But they observed me from a distance, almost as if they were trying to predict what would happen to them once they are assigned their masters._

 _I wish we had that opportunity when we were being trained._

 _The longest period we spent inside of a structure was within the Quartz training camp. It would only make sense, being that they are very important for Homeworld's militia._

 _And inside I learned what the term "defective" meant._

* * *

Blue has always wondered what it felt like behind the glass windows of the training areas, to see what was being typed onto the data terminals and be able to hear the muttered whispers of the Kindergartners more closely.

What did they think of the newborns they were taking care of?

Clustered before them was a crowd of beefy Quartzes, organized by who they would be assigned to. Unlike Pearls, who served individual masters and were identical in every way, Gems were classified by color and sorted into Diamond's courts by them. Blue Diamond was carefully watching those who would be serving her one day: an assortment of blues and purples and shades in between. They stared back with confident yet intimidated smiles.

"We're looking for possible flaws before the training process can begin," one of the Diopsides commanded. Her subordinates responded with collective nods and began their inspecting.

Blue didn't remember this being a part of training.

"You can never be too careful with newborn Gems," Blue Diamond said when she noticed her Pearl being intimidated by the rather large scanners the newborns were being inspected with. "They can be easily warped and damaged."

"None of them look cracked," Blue replied timidly. It was true; every gemstone was polished and whole.

Blue Diamond gave out a soft chuckle and shook her head. "That's not what we're searching for. Cracks can be healed; defects cannot."

"Defects? I've never heard of those," Blue said.

Her master only smirked in response. "That's because you're young and made it through training whole and unscathed. There's a lot you don't know."

"What's so bad about defects?" Blue asked.

"Defects are the flaws in one's gem that cannot be fixed through healing or regeneration; unfixable errors that one must live through for the rest of their life," Blue Diamond answered. "Even the smallest mistake can be costly towards the Gem's behavior. It could result in unpredictable programming, strange deformities, and in the worst case, rebellion."

Blue didn't know what _rebellion_ meant but with the way her Diamond breathed out the word like it was poison, she could only conclude it meant disaster.

"Some clues to defects are rather obvious, such as misshapen gemstones or incorrect physical features that remain throughout regeneration cycles," Blue Diamond continued. "Others are more subtle and can be concealed easily."

When her master uttered those words, Blue heard a sharp _crack_ and _whoosh_ , and turned her head to see various Kindergartners surrounding a poofed gemstone, waiting for it to regenerate. When the Quartz came to, the Kindergartners shared nods and whispers before recording their observations and moving on.

Blue Diamond smiled in content. "It was only a false alarm," she said. "For a moment, I thought we would have to carry out an execution. It's too early to bring out weapons so soon."

"E-execution? W-why is t-that n-needed?" Blue's words were warbled and shaky when she spoke.

"We have not found any solutions to fix defective Gems," Blue Diamond answered. "For now, we can only execute those who are flawed before they can afflict damage on Homeworld with their warped ideas. We are fully aware it is quite cruel to cut down a Gem in its prime, but for now, there are no other options. They are unfixable as far as we know."

"What if a defect escapes execution and is released without knowledge?" Blue asked.

Blue Diamond's lips quirk up a bit in surprise. Many other masters would be suspicious if their Pearls were a bit too aware, but Blue Diamond was only amused at her servant's observations. "That is very rare, considering the circumstances of our discipline, but you can always tell what makes them defective. If they cannot conform into the standards of their programming, they cannot last long in our society without facing consequences."

* * *

 _I've done much research on defective programming ever since that experience. A lot of things can cause defects: overlooked incubation, whether too long or too short, accidents during emerging, many other factors that deals with Kindergarten schematics._

 _White has always had trouble blending into the crowd, always having something to say or someone to pick a fight with. She has many complaints about our duties of Pearls and has too many questions on why we have to do things. She's a lot smarter than she's supposed to be and fancies just about anything; the more obscure, the better._

 _I don't want to sound incriminating towards our dear sister, but I fear that White might be . . . defective._

 _I'm scared, Yellow._

 _Sincerely, Blue_


	11. Chapter 10: Dear Blue

Yellow honestly didn't know who to write to.

She could reply to her younger sister Blue, reassuring that whatever . . . _behavioral issues_ White has . . . can and will be fixed with enough time.

She could send a letter to White, discreetly trying to ask her sister about any possible events that could be a result from defects— _that may or may not exist_ —just to be sure.

As much as White admittedly gotten on her nerves, Yellow did not want to believe it was because of faulty programming. Her sister was who she was and Yellow refused to believe that she needed to be fixed. And she knew that the Diamond Authority—as righteous and logical as they were—didn't allow defective Gems to exist in their perfect society.

She couldn't let that happen to her sister.

But the evidence that staring at her right in the face and no matter how stubborn Yellow was . . . she could never argues with facts.

It was glaringly true that White had never been able to fit within the standards a Pearl was made to follow. She was elegant and graceful for sure but she was a far cry from demure and silent. She was opinionated and driven, and has shown be a victim of anxiety from time to time. She could never hold things back for very long and doubted the status quo of Homeworld several times.

White found many things to complain about and hardly ever let them go. It was a dangerous aspect about her and Yellow often worried that it would turn against her at some point. She nitpicked at the self-righteous elites that looked down on common Gems such as themselves and wasn't afraid to be blunt about it.

Sometimes, she could be a bit oblivious to how her opinions made others distant themselves from her. There was a reason why only her sisters managed to keep patient with her.

She also failed to realize how far consequences can go. Sure, she's only saying what's on her mind, but there are certain Gems who won't let her get away with such things. And if there was one thing that always stuck with Pearls after they are trained is that Gems such as themselves are expendable and that _no one_ would hesitate to waste them. Their deaths would mean nothing.

And imagine the punishments White would receive if this happened to be true (which Yellow firmly believed wasn't). Yellow witnessed Homeworld's justice law herself—even though she had no right to condemn it in any way—and it could be conceived as . . . _harsh_ from her standpoint. And watching her sister either wither away by being broken or perhaps spending eternity powering a machine would only be unbearable.

Yellow needed to do a bit more research. That would be the only thing that could console her after receiving such news: pure logic. She could prove that what Blue found out was wrong and that their sister was no defect and definitely no traitor.

She once broke the rules for her sister but never fathomed that Yellow could do it for her own personal gains. But here she was, sitting by the sleek-screened computer terminals and conspicuously searching for information that she had no right to see.

 _All for the right reasons_ , Yellow chanted to herself _, all for the right reasons_.

Finally, she found the reports she craved.

 _Defective Gems are often the result from disturbances during incubation or emergences. As far as Kindergartners could fathom, there is no such cure. Defects vary from incompetence in carrying out their purpose for Homeworld or strange occurrences in their physical appearances that cannot be fixed through regenerations._

Yellow struggled to go back to her very first memory: popping out of the ground and hearing sharp _cracks_ that could only be the sound of life.

Falling to her knees as she wriggled from her hole, seeing her hands for the first time, smooth and free of callouses despite her climbing through several layers of earth and filth earlier in a struggle to get free. Her skin felt alive, buzzing with a comforting sort of crackle when she touched it, which was a sign that her first attempt at a physical form was a success. She was devoid of color at first, just like every emerging Pearl in the Facet Two Kindergarten.

She remembered the confusion of seeing bustling Gems pulling and checking at holes that contained newborn Pearls. Then she saw a face identical to her own appear in front of her.

"You were born right after me!" she giggled. "I popped out and then you climbed out a few seconds later. This was the Gem that would soon be known as White.

"I believe the correct term is _emerge_ ," Yellow corrected her, and then she realized they both possessed similar voices, but hers sounded much more shrill.

"We sound the same," the Pearl said, observing her from head to toes. "And we look the same."

"I think that might be the point," Yellow replied, gesturing to the plethora of Pearls around them, each of them looking with the same eyes and talking with the same voices.

"What is your name?" White asked.

"I—I don't know," Yellow replied nervously.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp poke in her arm and looked down to see a diminutive Peridot pin her with a label with a tool that almost resembled a gun. She did the same to the Pearl in front of her, who reacted to the gesture with a startled shriek.

"Facet-3R8P, Cut-9FD," she told Yellow and then she glanced towards White with an even more haughty look. "And you are Facet-8F2W, Cut-6NK."

"Apparently, this is my name," Yellow said once the Peridot left, flashing her shiny new sticker on her arm.

"I am never going to remember that," White said and Yellow couldn't help but nod in agreement. Then her eyes brightened with a look that Yellow perceived as excitement. "Maybe I can call you Little because you emerged after me!"

"We're the same height!" Yellow shrieked indignantly, loathing the nickname she gave her.

The elder Pearl shrugged in response. "Not because of your height, because you're younger," she said.

Yellow grumbled. Then another _crack_ interrupted their conversation, and another Pearl was added to the batch. This one was just the same as everyone else, but her blank eyes seemed to glisten with sensitivity.

"Why can't she be Little, then?" Yellow said, pointing at the Pearl with a crooked finger.

"What are you talking about?" the younger Pearl asked softly, her voice just a few pitches higher than the older Pearl's. She would be soon known as Blue.

"I don't like the names they're giving us," White said, flashing the sticker attached to her arm. As much as she tried, she couldn't tug it off her newly-made skin.

"We are all Pearl," Blue informed them.

Yellow shook her head stubbornly. "I am not calling everyone the same name."

White pondered the problem for a moment. "Technically, I'm the oldest," she said, which earned a grumbled from Yellow, "she's the second-born, and you're the youngest. I think that should be our new names."

"First, Second, and Third? I don't like it," Yellow complained.

White crossed her arms in retaliation. "What ideas do you have?"

Yellow was at a loss for words, which earned White the win for naming everyone. Back then, Yellow was labeled as Middle, being the second-born sister, which she sometimes doubted. And surprisingly, that lead to more conversations on their way to training and earned a friendship of a lifetime.

And even as foggy as the memory was, Yellow never recalled any struggles with White's emergence. That could only prove her point that White wasn't defective like Blue thought.

Her eyes drifted back to the screen in front of her and she read off a couple more sentences.

 _Signs of a defect are often either unfixable flaws in a Gem's structure or gemstone._

Yellow visualized her older sister in her mind, seeing her smooth limbs and round eyes that were identical to her own, only in different colors. Then she pinpointed the problem: whilst Yellow's gem was perfectly round, White's was noticeably more oval in shape.

And according to the article, that should be something to worry about.

Hesitantly, Yellow picked up some parchment and quickly scrawled the shortest letter she's written.

* * *

 _Dear Blue,_

 _The evidence we have now is small and coincidental, they are only hunches as far as we know. But no matter how much we learn along the way, one thing must be certain._

 _White shall never know about this._

 _Please promise me that you won't breathe a word about this to her, stars know how much she'll panic if she knew the truth._

 _I hate being duplicitous but right now it's our only option. You want to protect her as much as I want to. So please promise me this._

 _Please be brave for me, Blue._

 _Sincerely, Yellow_


	12. Chapter 11: Dear Blue

_Dear Blue,_

 _Lately, I can't seem to think of anything but Rose. I know you must be tired of hearing about her, but you're the only one I can talk to about it. So here we go again._

 _I never imagined that it would be so difficult to speak to someone. I always believed that no matter what, a Gem is a Gem, and there is absolutely no reason that some should be different. But Rose seems to evade that rule. Words become trapped in my throat and whenever she's in close proximity, there's a burst of heat underneath my skin that only gets more painful when she's nearer. I'm no expert in Gem genetics, but I don't think that should be happening._

 _And it's not like she's even a pain to be around. In fact, she's an absolute treasure. It's difficult to speak around her, but it's delightful to know she's actually interested in me and what I have to say. It's been painfully lonely ever since we have been separated but she seems to fill in that void and make things bright again._

 _She'll never be able to replace you and Yellow though._

 _But what makes her different than other Gems like her is that she isn't completely vicious and bloodthirsty like the Quartzes in her league. She never blatantly threatens others and genuinely believes in peaceful arguments over needless violence. She's actually capable of rational thought, which I previously believed to be impossible from soldier caste Gems. It surprises me in a pleasant way. Like its actually possible to different . . . and even be proud of it._

 _But another thing is that she doesn't seem to realize that I am a Pearl. No, she's not blind. Instead, she speaks to me the same way she speaks to her Quartz comrades. She never once mentions the fact that I am far beneath her. And from what I experienced, it feels good to actually forget what I'm built for._

 _I wish I could send you a picture of her but I don't have access to such technology. Instead, I will just describe her to you. Her image seems to be burned into my memory. She has voluminous pink hair that's styled in rich curls, similar to her superior, but much messier and casual. Sometimes, I wish I could reach out and stroke it. But I'm in no position to do such a thing._

 _Her eyes are black but not in a cold and empty way like my Diamond. Instead, it's more like an endless depth of warm darkness that doesn't isolate you from the light, but more so brings you closer to it. Simply just imagine the physical embodiment of warmth and hope and there she is._

 _Sometimes, I wonder if that's just what a Rose Quartz is designed to look like. I can't imagine that out there, someone has the exact eyes and smile as Rose, that her loveliness is nothing more than the description of an entire troop. I always think of her as a singular person, rather than one member of an entire army of clones. And it's just now that I realize that she's never told me her serial code, but instead insists on being referred to as Rose—just Rose._

 _I didn't think any Gem had a name like we did._

 _Whenever I think of Rose, I never fathom that all she is simply a carbon copy of someone else. I don't know why and I don't think that could ever be changed._

* * *

"Have you ever stepped foot outside? I don't recall you or your Diamond ever seeing Bellona for its natural beauty," Rose asked once she approached White.

"No, my Diamond thinks it's absolutely unnecessary," White answered, finding it hard to phrase her words.

"That sounds ridiculous," Rose gasped. "How did you even get here?"

"We've traveled from building to building by private Warp Pad," White replied, wringing her hands together nervously. "I don't think I've ever seen any natural Bellona places that are not Gem-made."

"Well then, why don't you ever see for yourself?" Rose asked.

"Because," White said timidly. "One of the first rules White Diamond ever gave me is that I'm not allowed to leave her side. I cannot go anywhere without her and if I do, she won't bother to look for me."

"That's outrageous," Rose said firmly, and when White looked straight into Rose's eyes, she could see a faint blaze stirring in her otherwise dark stare.

"It's what most Pearls do anyways," White blurted out, trying to find a way to defend her Diamond. Not out of loyalty, more so out of fear. "We find this to be common. After all, what's a Pearl without her master?"

"A Pearl without her master is still a Gem," Rose said angrily, yet her anger wasn't directed at White herself. She seemed to be glaring at an invisible being, and White was afraid to provoke her.

But she quickly regained her composure before White could question it further. "This might be scandalous to say, but when my Diamond isn't looking, I take Pink out to see the wonders of Bellona before it perishes."

"What? Why would you do such a thing?" White cried.

"Because," Rose said with a twinkle in her eye that White could determine as mischief. "It brings a smile to her face and it makes me smile too. It's not as terrible as it may seem. My Diamond values me highly and I always find a way out of trouble simply by talking."

That reminded White of Yellow and her way of finding an excuse for her older sister's transgressions. It comforted her knowing that Rose cared for Pink the same way White did for her sisters.

"Perhaps you can join us for our next outing?" Rose asked, interrupting White's thoughts.

"You would let me do that?" White replied in surprise. Suddenly, she pictured her Diamond's fiery eyes. "What about my—"

Rose stopped her before she could finish. "Don't worry; I'll take care of it."

* * *

 _I haven't had anyone care about me like this for a long time ever since we were taken away from each other. It makes me happy. I don't know why Rose has such interest in me, but I don't care. Just the way she looks at me makes me feel complete. I don't want it to ever stop._

 _I hope you're as happy as I am about this._

 _Sincerely, White_


	13. Chapter 12: Dear White

In her hands, Blue clutched two letters. One was from White; chronicling her excitement for her new . . . "companion" . . . Blue couldn't find the right words to describe this newfound bond. The other was from Yellow, detailing her urgency about their older sister.

She didn't know what to do about either.

She reread Yellow's letter and it wasn't until then did she realize how hasty and jagged the words seemed to be, and the parchment itself was wrinkled and slightly torn at the edges and it was definitely not Blue's doing. Yellow must've been _extremely_ anxious when she penned it. Stars know what she might be doing right now.

White's loopy handwriting seemed to etch out indescribable feelings that overwhelmed Blue. She didn't understand her sister's enrapture about this new Quartz and couldn't help but link it to possible defects. She had been especially paranoid lately about her older sister, knowing that Diamonds demanded the best of the best and did not tolerate any less than that. White Diamond deserved the most flawless and efficient Pearl of all and she feared that her sister might live up to her expectations. She shuddered when thinking about White being crushed to death before her Diamond.

And what's happening with Rose did not help. White failed to realize how short her life could be right now and one aberration could mean the end of it. But how could Blue warn her without offending her sister? How could she protect her when she was so far away? How could she defend her when they were both mere Pearls—who didn't even have the privilege of defending their own life?

What if there was nothing she could do?

Whisking out various sheets of parchment and writing utensils, Blue managed to hide away from the grand gathering of elite Gems that filled the Sea Spire and found herself a quiet place to write. Beneath the looping arches and grand murals, Blue almost appeared to be a decoration herself amidst the marble statues. She felt small, frail, and most of all, unimportant. Like she could fade away into the walls and no one would even notice.

But it was the perfect place to pen her secret letters.

As far as her superiors knew, Blue didn't even have the mental capacity to know how to send a letter. Pearls weren't required to know such things and it would only be a waste to teach them how if their duties never demanded it. But it was pure instinct for her, and she doubted that her superiors were aware of that either.

Pearls weren't meant to have attachments to anyone other than their master and no one could ever imagine tarnishing a Pearl in that way if they belonged to someone else. That would be violating one's property and disregarding privacy (which—in a certain way—respected Pearls to some degree, if it didn't regard them as property).

What would even be more scandalous for their superiors if it was revealed that Pearls could form bonds with _one another_? A proper Pearl would never indulge herself with the worries of another servant if she had her own master to attend to. That would only undermine the efficiency of a Pearl. A true Pearl only needed her master and would only think of her master. Their life, their importance, their worth—it all depended on who they belonged to. Nothing else should ever matter to them.

Knowing that made Blue worry: what if she could get shattered over this as well? But she needed the condolences of her sister—to know that she wasn't alone in this new world, to know that there would be one person who understood and knew her for her true name—not _Blue Diamond's Pearl_ , but simply _Blue_.

Unfolding her older sister's letter, Blue took out her parchment and began to write. But no matter how she ordered her words, she couldn't get her message out in the way she wanted it to.

* * *

 _Dear White,_

 _I don't know how to say this to you . . . but my recent observations have led me to conclude that your entire existence might've been a result of a Kindergarten failure._

* * *

 _Dear White,_

 _You know how you once said that you felt different than all the other Pearls? Well, congratulations, my research might prove that statement to be logically sound._

* * *

 _Dear White,_

 _I don't believe Rose might truly care for you the way I do. After all, you are defect—_

* * *

Blue couldn't even finish the last one before crumpling it up in disgust and shame and chucking it across the room, where it landed in a pile along with the other rejects. Her face fell into her hands as she let out an exasperated sigh. She would never get this right. Perhaps she should just let her sister live how she wished to live and wait for her inevitable early death. After all, according to how her Diamond saw her, the life of another Pearl shouldn't matter to Blue.

But it did. It did matter to her— _severely_.

What if White wasn't the only defective sister then?

"What are you doing?" a voice cried out, snapping Blue out of her anguish.

Standing amidst the scattered crumpled-out letters, was the Amethyst that once ravished Blue in front of her Diamond. But instead of a mysterious smirk on her face, her mouth was formed into a perfect O as she saw Blue carrying ink and parchment that she clearly didn't acquire from her Diamond. Then a look of pure outrage settled upon her.

She suddenly seized Blue's arm, not caring for her personal boundaries once again (if Pearls even had the luxury of having boundaries) and lifted her high. Blue squeaked when she realized that her feet dangled inches above the floor.

"Explain this," Amethyst snarled, snatching up a couple of crumpled-up letters. She unfurled one of them and read over the hastily-written words. She raised an eyebrow in confusion about who she was writing to but she immediately snapped back to her previous expression of pure hostility.

"I—I, um well," Blue stuttered, unable to form a coherent word.

Amethyst didn't question her any further. She pressed Blue against a wall and now held her by the throat rather than the arm. If Blue didn't require oxygen, she might've been choking.

"I don't care who you're writing this to or where they are located, all I know that these are not ordered by your Diamond," Amethyst said with a glare that almost burned Blue's eyesight. "Are they?"

All Blue could do was shake her head in response. All words that were once crammed in her throat now evaporated away by the sheer intensity of the Amethyst's grip and she was incapable of screaming.

"I expected better from a Diamond's Pearl," Amethyst whispered, her hot breath emanating onto Blue's face. "Luckily for you, I'll handle your punishment myself," she continued with a chuckle. "Blue Diamond never has to know."

Her free hand clenched into a fist and drew back before landing it directly upon Blue's delicate gemstone.

Everything soon went black.


	14. Chapter 13: Blue

Blue clutched her gemstone in pain as she hobbled towards her Diamond.

 _Have I ever been in this much pain before?_ She thought to herself.

She had experienced being poofed for the sake of renewing her appearance back in the training facility. Masters would often style their Pearls in different ways in order to keep up with the latest trends and she needed to get used to the experience. And it would only be a simple slice through the torso in order to retreat back into her true form. It was quick and simple and she had been through it so many times, it no longer made her scream or wince.

But damaging your gemstone was much more different than damaging your physical form. When getting poofed, you would feel immense pain but then it would dissipate in an instant and then you would be in your raw form; pure and whole and safe, like being insubstantial as air.

A cracked gemstone was a whole new level of injury.

There was no way to summon anything from your gemstone or activate your pocket dimension. And since your raw form was damaged, there was no hope for retreating into it. You could no longer heal yourself. You were trapped this way.

The Amethyst who damaged her stone had simply dropped her on the floor when she was done "punishing her." Blue could still remember her sinister chuckle as Blue was left in a half-conscious state. It took almost forever for her to get back on her feet properly and even longer to find the right path back to her Diamond.

She had never experienced this kind of pain before. And what horrified her even more was that she had started to glitch out, seeing her limbs bend out in crooked directions in ways that should not be possible. The jagged crack on her stone was quite deep and the symptoms were coming in fast.

"My Diamond," Blue said hoarsely, feeling her voice slowly glitch. It changed tones as she kept speaking, almost as if someone was changing the pitch constantly.

"What's wrong with you?" Blue Diamond spoke, showing perhaps what was the most concern her voice could contain.

Blue knew she couldn't hide it for long. It wouldn't be long until she began to deteriorate into a hideous deformed version of herself. And that was not flattering for a Pearl.

She slowly removed her hand from her gemstone and let the crack speak for itself.

Blue Diamond stood up abruptly and her hands balled into fists as she gazed upon her wounded Pearl.

"My Pearl, oh my stars!" she gasped in a slightly alarmed way. It sounded absolutely faked, but it was expected. She was much more perplexed than sympathetic. What kind of trouble could a Pearl get into that resulted in a crack?

It was incredibly difficult to point her finger in the right direction, especially since her arm was losing its shape as she spoke, but she managed to point out the perpetrator, who had returned to her spot guarding her Diamond almost as if she had never left.

"S-she tried to kill me," Blue coughed out as she felt her face contort in rather unflattering ways.

Everyone gathered in the Spire fell into dead silence as they witnessed this. Most of them took a step back in horror as they saw such a malformed Pearl. It was extremely uncommon to see one look so . . . deformed. Yet no one dared to help her return to full health.

The Amethyst simply crossed her arms and gasped indignantly. "My Diamond, I had caught her breaking a rule right underneath your nose! I was only delivering rightful justice."

"W-what, no don't believe her!" Blue cried out, and another glitch caused her to fall to her knees in pain and clutch her gemstone again. She was in no condition to stand. Still, no one helped her.

"First, a Pearl commits a serious treason, and then she lies about it?" Amethyst scolded Blue as she approached her, lightly patting her on her now malformed head. "It's truly disappointing."

Blue Diamond stood beside the Amethyst, her face absolutely stoic as she witnessed her loyal Pearl deteriorate before her. She didn't offer any help or even looked her in the eye. She—only—stood—there.

"I didn't do anything wrong," were the only words that managed to escape Blue's lips. "I swear on my life. Please help me."

Blue Diamond looked between her almost dying Pearl and her Amethyst guard, who was currently smirking arrogantly amidst all of this tragedy.

Finally, she spoke. "Fetch the healers," she sighed in frustration. "We'll discuss punishment after your treatment."

Blue's throat constricted. What did she mean by _her_ punishment?

"Didn't you hear me? I said this was her fault, she damaged me," Blue cried.

"But didn't you listen to _her_?" Blue Diamond replied in a bored tone, having the audacity to roll her eyes while doing so. "She was only doing what was right. Hopefully, I won't have to go through the pain of ordering a new Pearl. Perhaps you could go through a less extreme punishment, depending on the circumstances."

"B-but, shouldn't you trust your own Pearl?" Blue spluttered, no longer caring about her dignity.

Blue Diamond narrowed her eyes. "While you are an efficient and remarkable Pearl, this Amethyst had been by my side for ages and won countless battles. I have only owned you for less than a full orbit. The odds prove that she is much more trustworthy."

Blue still couldn't believe it. "B-but—"

Out of nowhere, Blue Diamond's foot met contact with Blue's chest. It added more injury to Blue's already serious crack. If anything, it accelerated the process. All of Blue's breath was knocked out of her chest and she was forced to keep her eyes to the ground, feeling tears behind her eyelids.

"Listen to me," Blue Diamond intoned, only shifting her expression for this occasion. "If you truly want treatment, then you will accept your place. If you refuse to do so, then prepare to die this way. It's your choice."

Blue was flabbergasted. She was here; curled up on the floor, surrounded by possible healers and now she was being denied treatment. And the guilty party was standing above her, whole and undamaged. And no one dared to do anything about it . . . because the law prevented them.

And there was nothing she could do to change it.

"I'm sorry," Blue whispered hoarsely, still writhing from her master's kick. She didn't mean it at all, but it was either her dignity or her well-being to sacrifice.

She chose her well-being.

A smile formed on Blue Diamond's face and she sighed in satisfaction. Beside her, Amethyst bared her teeth in a venomous smile, one that could only belong to a monster.

"Now, would anyone please help my Pearl?" Blue Diamond finally spoke, a smirk forming beneath her hood. It had taken forever for a pair of healers to take Blue by the arms and head for treatment.


	15. Chapter 14: Blue and White

Blue had no right to say this whatsoever, but what she was put through was _entirely unfair_.

Amethyst could've handled her discovery a lot differently. She could've done something other than brutally crack her and almost left her to die. There were several other options and yet she chose violence.

But wasn't that what every Quartz did?

They were the eyes and ears of the Diamond Authority. They had a lot more freedom than other lower-class Gems, and as long as their Diamonds weren't present, they could whatever they pleased with their subordinates without any consequence. They could crack and shatter any other common Gem and yet the Diamonds wouldn't care because they simply weren't important enough in their eyes.

No one should have that much power.

And what was worse was that if perhaps Blue was another type of Gem, maybe even an aristocrat, she wouldn't have been treated so cruelly. She could've had the luxury of pleading her case further and maybe even had someone taking it seriously. She might've been given treatment for her wounds a lot quicker. But she was denied any of that: because she was a Pearl.

And it has been happening to several other generations of Pearls for however long the Gem Empire might have existed (which was a very long time). No one has ever bothered to change it because no one had ever even cared. Except for perhaps the ones who were victimized but they had no power to do so. They didn't even have the liberty to call themselves "Gems." They were objects, decorations; a little medal one earned when they were being promoted to elite status.

And no one could ever care when one got damaged.

* * *

 _I never thought that Rose could look more beautiful than she was before but I was wrong_ , Pearl thought as she gazed at the pink Quartz, who was humming as she weaved petals into Pink's hair.

Rose's silky curls were also braided with lovely blossoms as well. They were one of the few organic species that bloomed here on Bellona, and perhaps were the few left surviving. Organisms got rarer and rarer as the Kindergartens continued their work. It didn't happen instantly; it was a process that occurred over centuries and centuries of work. But now that White Diamond has come and assisted her sister in the colonization, it seems to have gone slightly faster.

Rose had kept her promise to White and now the three of them were venturing what remained of Bellona's once-flourishing ecosystem. Rose reminisced that the planet used to be much prettier before the Kindergartens and Spires were built. The garden was one of the few places that were untouched by the harmful Gem harvest. It was a secluded grove of organic beings called _flowers_. They lacked sentience of any form yet made up for it with its sheer delicacy and color. Rose was especially fond of them and wanted to see them.

"What are you doing?" White screeched when she saw Pink do the unthinkable: take one of the clusters of shimmering petals and place it inside of her pocket dimension. She knocked the blossoms out of Pink's hands, which elicited the softest squeak from Pink's lips; the first sound White had ever heard from the otherwise mute Gem.

"Oh my stars, you surprised me there, White!" Rose yelped, which then led to her chuckling softly as she scooped up the flowers that were dropped.

White raised an eyebrow at this reaction. "But she was doing something forbidden!" she said as she defended herself, crossing her arms for emphasis. "Pearls aren't allowed to keep any of their possessions inside of their gem! She's not even obligated to _have_ possessions!"

She had to bite her tongue before she could let herself say, ' _Because she is a possession herself!_ "

Rose's eyes only sparkled from amusement at her words. "It's not that big of a deal," she said as she placed her hand on White's delicate shoulder. "Pink Diamond rarely has any use for her Pearl's gemstone so she would never know. Besides, the flowers are needed for our collection."

"What do you mean?" White asked. She never expected Rose to have so many mysteries about her. Then again, her eyes did seem to shine with uncertainty. She was different from all the other Quartzes. Surprises were expected from her.

"Look all around you," Rose said, gesturing towards the harsh landscape that surrounded the grove of flowers. It was crumbling to pieces and slowly splitting apart to make its own floating islands. Gem structures dotted the plates of land and replaced the once-blooming beauty with harsh yet innovative society. "All of Bellona is going to disappear eventually once the Gem colony is complete. Soon enough, all of its glory will be forgotten with time. I refuse to let go of the memory. So Pink and I make it our mission to salvage what we can so we can hold onto what once was."

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" White blurted out. "What if your Diamond caught you? Surely, she cannot allow this to happen, even if she does value you."

"Who cares what she thinks?" Rose snapped, suddenly fierce. "She didn't care what I said when I tried to suggest less harmful methods to cultivate Gems yet she never cared about my opinion! They never do!"

Silence settled upon them when Rose was done speaking. The pink Quartz collected more petals, uprooting them a bit more roughly than before, almost as she was angry. Her eyes glinted with this newfound burning, like it was a pile of embers waiting to ignite.

"This is what we do to continue the Gem race," White said softly, trying to fill in the silence. She wanted to defend what the Diamonds were doing. After all, it's only what was right. "We have no other choice. These organic species will simply die off one day, even without our help."

"Yet they still have the potential to keep living on," Rose replied. "I've seen all the other planets before . . . before the Diamonds decide to harvest them. And it's the same process over and over: I get attached to the beauty all around me and soon enough, it all vanishes before me. I just want to make sure not all of it disappears, even if it means breaking the rules a little."

Pink reaches out and touches a gentle hand on Rose's shoulder, which makes the Quartz smile brightly once again. Rose finally regained the courage to look White in the eyes again and whispered, "Pink wants you to see it."

"See what?" White asked; a little overwhelmed at how open the two Gems were.

"She wants to show you what we have collected over the years," Rose said warmly, gently nudging the older Pearl.

Pink smiled and approached White. The younger Pearl blushed slightly when she moved closer to the gemstone on Pink's navel, which matched both Rose's and Pink Diamond's placements and was nearly identical to White's gemstone.

Within the little space White could see in Pink's dimension, the Pearl saw lush pale pink grass gently rustle in the wind upon a hilly landscape. Scattered on the grass were various little treasures poking themselves above the grass: from plant wildlife to colored stone to even little weapons and tools that were crudely made from other materials; little pieces of history hidden amongst the soft grass and stored away where no one could find them.

"What do you think?" Rose asked, biting her lip almost as if she was nervous.

"It's beautiful," White declared, knowing exactly what to write to her sister when she arrived home.


	16. Chapter 15: Yellow

Yellow haven't heard from either Blue or White in a very long time. At first, she tried not to let it bother her. Then, as the cycles grew longer and longer with each passing moment, she began to write more letters to her sisters, some of them only containing two or three sentences, desperately trying to get some sort of reply that would confirm that they are alive.

* * *

 _Dear White,_

 _I have no memories to share with you and have no concern to talk about your own. I just wanted to say that you are in my heart always and so is Blue; I don't think we say that too often. Just something I began to think of, that's all._

 _Sincerely, Yellow_

* * *

 _Dear Blue,_

 _I know the life of a Pearl is dreadfully busy and I must be wasting your time, making a correspondence with nothing at all to say, but I simply wanted to remind myself that you are here and are always here. All I wanted to say._

 _Sincerely, Yellow_

* * *

 _Dear White,_

 _You have done something wrong. You must have._

 _If you didn't, then why haven't I received anything from Blue? Is she mad at you? Are you two keeping something from me? What have I been missing while working? At least I have the decency to intend to do my job well and take it seriously, unlike you, who doesn't seem to realize that our lives are on the line. And just because I might not send for a couple of cycles doesn't mean you two are constantly in my thoughts._

 _I would never forget about you two. But it seems that you two have._

 _You think all I do is complain that you are the one who always did something wrong. That you never fail to be the first one I blame. But you make it so easy. After all, the only other person I can see to blame is myself._

 _What did I do wrong, White?_

 _Sincerely, Yellow_

* * *

And yet, she has received no response.

She wanted something; anything to see something from her sisters, whether the words be angry or frightened or sad. If it confirmed she wasn't alone, then she was content.

Worried thoughts began to consume her. She kept thinking of the worst-case scenarios: White's secret had gotten out and she is now incapacitated by her master inside of a bubble . . . or worse, Blue might've slipped up and had gotten herself shattered, or maybe even her sisters never wished to speak to her again.

She never recalled any mistake she made. And she knew that if she did slip up, White would tell her because her older sister never failed to tell the truth, even when it was definitely not needed. And Blue wouldn't hold a grudge; Yellow wasn't even sure if she was capable. She was gentle and pristine; she could never harbor anger for very long without fearing that she was pushing people away.

But what if they changed?

What if the servitude of a Pearl had changed her sisters' philosophies and morphed them somehow? She had seen older Pearls being marched around by their masters and it seemed that they were much less vibrant than newborn Pearls that had not been subjugated to reality of Homeworld society just yet. There was no light reflected in their eyes, no hint of a smile nor a frown on their lips, their hands seemed to be eternally clasped together, as if breaking them apart would poof them. They couldn't keep their eye contact for very long and always found a way to drift their gaze towards the ground. If anything, they could easily be mistaken for wind-up dolls that only responded if their masters decided to twist their keys.

So what if her sisters had already been washed out and now were the perfect Pearls their masters wanted?

But Yellow refused to believe that.

White promised that that would be last thing to ever happen to her and the fiery look in her eyes when she said that seemed to confirm it wholeheartedly. Yellow knew her sister held onto her word because she was determined to push her limits in ways that other Pearls could not.

Blue was a lot more passive than her older sister, but she never turned her back on her sisters. She wouldn't be able to handle it; being truly alone in the world with nothing but her sadistic master to turn to. It might signify her as weak but it at least constituted her as loyal.

Yellow knew her sisters wouldn't abandon her. She didn't know any other ways to think.

But she couldn't let herself live on without any form of communication from them. It was starting to show in her efficiency as a Pearl. Her Diamond was beginning to notice her shifts in behavior, how Yellow would try to find ways to be alone and apart from her master. That was unacceptable for a Pearl; in Yellow Diamond's eyes, her Pearl had no life other than her.

It wouldn't be long until she was confronted about this strange behavior.

Yellow had to try again, one last time. Then she would have to return to her duties and hope for the best. But it would be worth it if her sister responded.

If this was the last time she could ever write to her sister, she has to warn her. She has to let White know her life was in danger. No more holding back; sisters shouldn't keep secrets from each other, anyways.

* * *

 _Dear White,_

 _You might be exasperated to get another letter from me at this point, but this time, it's something urgent, not another meaningless way to get a correspondence._

 _Blue and I have been keeping something from you. I know, I know; we're terrible people and unworthy sisters and more worthless than we already are, but we wanted to confirm it was true before we could say anything. Now I think this is the time._

 _You might not be reading this or even receiving for all I know, but I don't care. I need to say this before you possibly put yourself in danger. And I know you will._

 _You are different from the rest of the Pearls, and not in a "special sister" kind of way. I mean it in a way that separates you from every other Pearl, including Blue and I. And this is a dangerous sort of "different," dangerous in a way that it has to be kept secret from everyone, including your own Diamond._

 _You are defective. It is difficult to explain right now, but all you have to know that it means you are different from everyone else; not "special," not "unique," not "rare." And that is something that the Diamonds wouldn't be able to tolerate._

 _I don't expect any questions if you ever even respond, all I want from you is to know you will be careful. Stay away from anyone who seems untrustworthy._

 _Be safe, please._

 _Sincerely, Yellow_


	17. Chapter 16: White

None of the words scribbled on Yellow's letter had made any sense to White.

 _Defective_ : it felt like such a harmless word. Yet in her sister's letter, it seemed to be quite the contrary.

She had been receiving swarms of letters from Yellow lately, most of them about how slow time moved for them and how dreadful it was being apart. White had stopped reading them a while ago; it was cruel towards her sister, yes, but she felt that she did not need a reminder of the things she already knew for almost centuries at this point.

This one felt a lot more urgent.

White was confused. Had she done something wrong? Could this _defectiveness_ be reversed? Why was it so scandalous? What would it exactly do to her?

Ever since she popped out of the ground in Atheros, White felt . . . different from the rest of the Pearls; she didn't really know why exactly. She was just as pretty as the rest of them and certainly was as graceful and efficient, if she was allowed to brag. But something always felt off. Like she could be something more, like she didn't feel like settling for what the Diamonds handed to her, like she could break herself apart from the rest of monotonous Pearls and leave without ever turning back; but those thoughts were always kept to herself.

Throughout her training, she always had been told that she was wrong.

The way she spoke was wrong.

The way she danced was wrong.

The thing she said, whether it be quietly or loudly, were wrong.

The thoughts that she never dared to say aloud were wrong.

She was born different. And yet, even though White had remembered the word _different_ feeling less scandalous on her tongue, that statement felt like it could put her in danger.

After that last letter, her sisters' correspondences seemed to have stopped abruptly. Yellow had not written one since her last letter and Blue had stopped a long, long time ago. White _could_ try to trigger some sort of response from them, try to write a letter that would require their reply, but she could never make herself write a letter about absolutely nothing. It felt wrong to her.

"White, you seem to be a little off lately," Rose said to her. "Is there something wrong?"

White immediately straightened up when she heard Rose's soothing voice. Every time she was near her, White gained this itching feeling of wanting to please her, in any kind of way. It was strange; she never wanted to impress any other Gem like Rose. Only her approval seemed to matter in White's eyes. Even her Diamond seemed to pale in comparison to her.

But if she ever said that out loud, she would immediately be harvested.

"Nothing, how could you ever think that?" White said almost uncharacteristically cheerful.

Rose's eyes narrowed. "There's no use lying to me, you know. I am a Rose Quartz, after all."

"Huh?" White asked, now confused. What did her Gem type have to do with anything?

"Rose Quartzes like me have the rare ability to sense other Gems' feelings and thoughts," the pink-haired dame explained. "My Diamond only tells me to use it to sniff out lies from criminals but it's proven to be useful in other areas. Something is troubling you; a deep question you fear has no answer. And if you confide in anyone, you might get in trouble."

Hearing Rose say that was almost frightening for White; had she been scanning her like that all this time? What had she sensed from her? Now she felt transparent, like any thought from her mind would make Rose turn away from her. What did she know and what did she think of her?

"Um, I heard something from someone," White said slowly, not sure whether she was lying or not. She observed Rose's expression carefully, prepared for the Quartz to turn away at any time. But she didn't. So she continued, "And they told me that I was something different. And that it was not something to be proud of."

"Defective," Rose said, calling out the word that White was so afraid to say so boldly.

"How did you know that?" White implored, afraid for what she had to say next.

"It's been a word that only those who were qualified in the Gem-creation and important authority figures knew," Rose explained. "I've heard it all the time. If you ever been on the operating side of a Kindergarten, it was something to worry about all the time."

"But what does it mean? Is it something dangerous? Why doesn't the vast majority know about it?" White began to list of dozens of questions, even though it was not in a Pearl's nature.

"Gems always say that it's something dangerous, something to be afraid of, that those who were defective were nothing more than vicious traitors-to-be," Rose said with a heavy sigh. "Defective Gems are anyone who came out of Kindergarten flawed, different from the vast majority. And no amount of regenerations could fix it. As far as any Gem knows, defects are incurable."

 _Flawed_ , the word echoed inside Pearl's mind intrusively.

"What do Gems do about defects?" White asked timidly. She wasn't sure why she asking; everything that Rose was saying frightened her.

"Shatter them," Rose sighed, like she was sickened from saying so.

White's eyes widened. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't force any words out of her mouth. It was like she falling apart on the inside, one tap of the forehead could make her splinter into pieces.

No wonder Yellow was so worried about her. But then, how did she know? Was it already obvious? And Blue knew as well! How long have they been keeping this from her? Did her Diamond already know? How long did she have before she was shattered?

Rose traced the pale gemstone on White's forehead with her finger. "You're scared, aren't you?"

White could nod in response. Her gaze plummeted to the floor as she gulped down the pressure rising in her throat.

"It's not something to be ashamed of," Rose reassured.

"Of course it is!" White shrieked. "They're going to shatter me over this! And I can't do anything about it! You said so yourself, it's something that I cannot fix."

"Everyone always that it's something shameful, that it's something that should be erased," Rose said bitterly. "But in truth, the real reason they're so afraid is because they fear that it would be the defects that would bring upon an uprising."

"Uprisings," White repeated. She wasn't sure what that meant but it sounded scandalous.

"That's what they're really afraid of," Rose said. "Rebellion, anarchy, war, justice, freedom, and individualism, and in reality, defects aren't always the cause of it. You could be made perfectly and still turn against the Diamond Authority. Being defective has nothing to do with it. Still, the Diamonds always try to find ways to pin the blame on someone other than themselves. If they could only change, if only they were compliant enough to just open their eyes, they could see that they were wrong."

Somehow, White believed that she wasn't just talking about defects.

A warm smile cracked upon Rose's once-grim mouth. Her soft hands cupped White's pale face, which caused the Pearl's cheeks to turn deep blue. "White, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Being defective doesn't mean you're broken, and I am absolutely sure that you don't need to be fixed."

With those words, White found herself smiling again and can't seem to stop.


	18. Chapter 17: Blue and White

_Dear White,_

 _Sorry if I haven't been corresponding in a while. I was going through something rough and I needed a lot of time before I could feel ready to reach out to you again. I won't go into explicit detail, because that is not why I needed to write to you so urgently._

 _This is about Rose. You told me that she was special to you, and that she was different than all the rest. But deep down, you should know that's impossible. If Rose truly was different than she wouldn't have the privilege to live. Quartzes are supposed to be ruthless, savage warriors and no Diamond in their right mind would want anything less than that. I should know._

 _No Gem is supposed to care about a Pearl. To them, we're nothing more than property, something shiny that could easily be thrown away and replaced. They like to play around with us, make us think we're special and treasured when in reality, they could never shed a tear at our pain. Rose isn't who you think she is. You might say she's the most wonderful Gems you've ever met but does she truly feel the same for you? Remember, you said Rose not only has you, she likes to play around with Pink Diamond's Pearl as well. Who could say this is not all some sort of game she likes to do with all Pearls. Who says she thought of you as special?_

 _Who could say any of us are special?_

 _Isn't this why we have each other to seek for comfort? If there could be anyone who we would let out of our innermost secrets for, it's our sister. We cannot trust anyone else more. Throughout our entire lives, no one has ever truly loved or cared about us: the trainers thought of us as a new batch to train, our masters have only purchased us for the entertainment we offer them, and even other Pearls are too dignified or afraid of looking at us directly. It should be clear by now._

 _I don't want you to end up getting hurt like I did. What did Rose ever do that Yellow and I could never offer anyways? She's only someone to watch over her Diamond and the two of you meeting was only pure chance. But we've been with you since our first emergence. That must be far more valuable._

 _Sincerely, Blue_

* * *

White didn't really know what to feel when she finished the letter. The way her fingers quaked as she tightly gripped onto the parchment noted some sort of rage but the tears on the corners of her eyes must mean more sadness or betrayal.

Had her sister really insisted on making White believe she was nothing more than trash? This was not Blue's doing, was it? She was so gentle and pure-hearted and loyal. But this letter seemed to contradict all of that. And worse, she believed that White was being foolish for loving Rose.

She didn't understand how she truly felt about her. Rose was much more than the average Quartz, White knew that.

And she refused to believe otherwise.

* * *

 _Dear Blue,_

 _You don't know Rose like I do. She could never do such a thing. If she wanted to play around with so many Pearls, she could've just purchased one. But no, she truly does care about me for me._

 _And it is true that Rose is different than the rest of the Quartzes. She has the ability to sense the thoughts and feelings of other Gems! She might not have known me for very long, but she knows just as much as you and Yellow do._

 _And Rose doesn't care about what the Diamond Authority says about Pearls being beneath all other Gems. She still cares for me and Pink Pearl despite the possible casualties. She told me so herself, she believes that Gem types should be as divided as they are now. She wants something different than what the Diamonds set out for us. And I do as well._

 _Sincerely, White_

* * *

The next letter from Blue did not fix the fracture between them, however.

* * *

 _Dear White,_

 _As much as you and I would love to change how we are treated, we both know that's impossible. It's what we are made for and no elite Gem would be willing to give up their little pets so easily. And even worse, we are the only ones who see this as an issue. Other Gems have no problems seeing us getting dragged around and played with because they believe that's the only thing we're good for._

 _The ones who own Pearls don't want to give us up and the ones who cannot don't care. Even the lowliest look down on us because we don't have the liberty to be called true Gems._

 _And if Rose truly does feel this way, this could only make her more dangerous. If she has the audacity to defy her Diamond in such a way, who knows what else she is capable of? Those who dare to think like her are the ones classified as rogues and renegades._

 _I know what you're thinking. You don't think of Rose as a problem and you believe that what she's doing is all justified. But what did Rose do that made you think of her as so special anyways? She's only one soldier in a sea of thousands just like her. And the way you cherish her is only reserved to someone as special as your Diamond. And there is no way that Rose means more than to you than your Diamond does . . . or your sisters do._

 _So tell me, White, what makes Rose so special?_

 _Sincerely, Blue_

* * *

White wasn't sure if she ever felt angry towards her sisters before. But perhaps this was the very first. She wasn't sure what was making Blue act this way but she has certainly has had enough.

* * *

 _Dear Blue,_

 _If you are so desperate to know, here it is._

 _I know that you and Yellow has been keeping secrets from me. I know that I am defective and that that is something that the Diamonds don't tolerate well. And what I also know is that my defect sets me apart from the rest of the Pearls . . . which includes you and Yellow as well._

 _And since then, you have been treating me differently. Like I couldn't make my own decisions without crumpling apart, like I am beneath you because while you have the liberty to call yourself perfect . . . I cannot._

 _But Rose doesn't care. When she found out, she still treats me the way she does before. She has helped me cope with it and embrace it, unlike you, who have only pushed me away because of it. Why? Is it because you're afraid that if you are associated with me that must mean you are defective as well? Are you ashamed that you are sisters with someone the Diamonds call "mistakes?" Do you think my defect sets me at a level beneath you?_

 _You have to accept it sooner or later; we are no longer the Gems we were back at the facility. Now we have the freedom to have our own lives apart from each other. And that should mean that I can make my own choices and be happy with them . . . and so should you._

 _We're not discussing this any further and that's final._

 _Sincerely, White_


	19. Chapter 18: Dear White

_Dear White,_

 _Blue has informed me of what happened between you two. She included all of the information you have withheld from me about your relationship with Rose Quartz. I may say this a million times over and over but I must say this again: I cannot believe you._

 _I cannot believe you would associate yourself with other elite without your Diamond's permission. I cannot believe you would ever hide it from me and I cannot believe that you would break ties with our sister over it. If there is one thing you should understand, it's that a Pearl should never conduct herself with another Gem other than her master, no exceptions. And no matter how kind and pure, Rose is programmed to be a ruthless, sadistic warrior. And we are programmed to be nothing more than little trinkets for them to abuse. So if you have any shred of common sense left, you would realize being involved with her means trouble, especially if your Diamond knew._

 _This has nothing to do with your status as defective and I cannot believe you would ever link our concern for your safety with outright prejudice. Isn't protecting each other part of the promise we made when we were separated? Or did Rose make you forget about that too?_

 _I hope you realize we only do this out of love and loyalty._

 _Sincerely, Yellow_

* * *

White would always expect this kind of response from Yellow but nevertheless it still hurt. She believed that her sisters would trustworthy and understanding, but no, they thought they had the liberty to control her choices and feelings. What was worse was the fact that they assumed Rose was some sort of heinous beast taking advantage of her. If anything, White may as well classify her Diamond with that kind of label.

After receiving Yellow's letter, White hasn't tried to make any kind of contact with her sisters. It was indeed cruel, but her anger still seethed and speaking to them again would only push her further.

Besides, she had Rose and Pink to keep her company. She wasn't as alone as she thought she was.

Bellona has nearly become a complete colony by now. Everything that once bloomed with life was now withered and dead. All that the Diamonds needed to do now was build the remaining structures that needed to be made. Gems were already arriving to settle down on their new satellite colony. Most of the Gems around felt the need to celebrate this new victory for the Diamonds.

Not Rose, however.

She and Pink now spent their time wandering aimlessly around what used to flourish and blossom and mourn silently. It felt very personal to them, so White dared not to intrude on them. This may be the hundredth time they have seen this happen.

White would do anything to see her beloved Rose smile again.

* * *

"My Pearl," White Diamond called with her stern yet steady voice. It was different from Rose's, whose voice made White feel like the air was made of petals. "Come here, will you?"

"Yes, my Diamond?" White responded, saluting her Diamond in the way that felt particularly difficult for her, arranging her arms in a diamond shape.

"The colony has almost come to fruition, have you realized?" White Diamond asked, her words feeling almost chillingly calm. The air somehow grew tense at such an innocent question.

"Yes, master," White replied with a nearly monotonous nod. "It is quite lovely, seeing so many new Gems arrive here."

"They are all gathering to celebrate the success of a new colonization," White Diamond said, gazing out of the numerous windows her control room had to offer. The sky outside was filled with multiple ships, all carrying in elite Gems. White couldn't help but wonder about where the Pearls were stored.

"The rest of the Diamond Authority are coming as well," White Diamond continued, which elicited a surprised gasp from her Pearl. Unfortunately she noticed. "What is wrong, my little Pearl?"

"I am just thrilled to see the rest of the honorable Diamonds," White quickly excused herself. It worked, thankfully.

"It is too bad," White Diamond muttered to softly, her eyes locked in a faraway gaze.

"Whatever do you mean?" White asked dubiously.

"That you won't be there to enjoy the festivities," her Diamond answered airily, her eyes making contact with her servant, seeing how her face paled immediately and her eyes widened.

The words could barely come out of White's mouth coherently. "What do you—does that—oh my stars—please don't—why are you doing this?"

White Diamond stood from her seat, making White feel even smaller from her standpoint. "As much as it was entertaining having you around, I couldn't help but notice something was always off about you. Pink Diamond kept comparing you to her own Pearl and the differences were quite alarming." She approached her timid servant even closer for emphasis. "You didn't think I would notice, would you?"

With the pressure rising around her, White was surprised that she didn't collapse yet. Her life was so alarmingly short and she has seen so little of the world around her. She had been warned how easily masters get upset with their Pearls, but she didn't expect less than one full rotation.

 _You should have seen it coming_ , a voice echoed in White's head, one that was almost frighteningly similar to Blue's. _This is what happens to defects, after all._

"What can I do?" White begged her voice feeling in between a rasp and a sob. "Please, just tell me what can I do to make you spare me?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing for you to do, little one," White Diamond replied, indifferent to her Pearl's fear and anxiety. Her finger approached White's forehead and traced the misshapen gemstone embedded in it. "After all, Gems like you cannot be fixed. They can only be broken—out of mercy, of course. I am only keeping you from damaging yourself further."

Tears began streaming down White's face, as embarrassing as it was, she didn't care. "No, I'm begging you, please don't—"

It was too late, White Diamond brought forth a weapon, a specially forged sword similar to the one Rose wielded but pearly silver and emblazoned the Diamond symbol. The blade was already aimed at her throat.

"Goodbye, my Pearl," White Diamond said darkly, a sinister smile creeping up her face, making her sharp features look almost maniacal and bloodthirsty.

White's eyes squeezed shut, anticipating the horrid pain that Pearls have long gotten used to when they needed to upgrade their form. What was different was that this was going to be her last poofing before being shattered.

There was a sharp clang of the metal, but it did not slash White at all. In fact, she was miraculously unharmed. This was metal against metal, and judging from the sudden vibrations it gave off, it was shielding her from her Diamond's attack. There was another thud, and then White heard her Diamond's sword clatter against the floor in defeat.

When she opened her eyes, there was her savior in front of her, tears brimming her eyes as she faced the unconscious White Diamond, who fell back after her surprise shield blocked her attack and sent her flying backwards: Rose Quartz, carrying her infamous shield.

"Rose!" White shrieked with joy, immediately embracing her savior with all her might. She didn't feel ready to let go, ever.

"White, what happened?" the pink-haired Quartz asked, a sharp and serious flame burning in her eyes behind her moist tears.

"She was going to shatter me," White answered hoarsely, like her voice was about to give out after all her badly-restrained tears. "Because she knew I was—I was . . ."

"Defective," Rose finished for her, the tears slipping away from her eyes revealing them to be burning with hatred.

"She's going to be angry when she wakes up," White whispered, her grasp tightening on Rose. Perhaps her rescue would be futile after all, for the both of them.

"You won't be there when she wakes up," Rose said sharply, grabbing White's hand a bit too roughly.

"What do you mean?" the young Pearl asked, a little scared of what it meant.

"If you escape before she awakens, she won't bother to search for you," Rose explained. "Trust me; I've seen it happen before. Masters who lose their Pearls give up after a couple of cycles and end up leaving their Pearls to succumb to fate, since they believe that Pearls cannot survive without a master, or let them be claimed by someone else. Either way, they move on quickly and purchase a replacement without ever wondering what happened to their old one. You might have to hide for a couple of cycles, but once your Diamond gets a replacement, all you have to do is regenerate to a new form so she won't recognize you and you would be set free."

"I would be free?" White repeated, slightly breathless from her sobbing.

"Wasn't that what you always wanted?" Rose asked softly.

White bit her lip, contemplating the decision. It was risky, not to mention illegal, but it was always a thought that burned in the back of her mind, the idea of escaping with Rose and away from the mundane life with her Diamond. This was her only chance. And it was either this or faces death itself, which she didn't feel ready for.

She nodded exuberantly, a smile cracking from her face for the first time and she even let out an excited giggle, like what she was doing wasn't scandal and crime, but more so, a little escapade with her beloved. And it made Rose smile in return, which lifted her spirits even more.

"Does that mean I belong to you now?" White asked as she and Rose snuck out of the temple she formerly resided in.

"Trust me, White," Rose reassured the young Pearl. "After this, you won't have to belong to _anyone_ anymore."


	20. Chapter 19: Blue and Yellow

They didn't expect it to happen, but it did.

With the new colony unveiled, the three sisters finally have a chance to reunite at the gathering the Diamonds are throwing, only for the most exclusive of Gems. Of course, it was most likely they would only be within the walls of the party to be shown off by their masters. If they weren't needed for such frivolity, then they would be put outside.

But either way, the three Pearls would be able to see each other for the first time in what seemed to like centuries.

Blue felt remarkably anxious.

Her Diamond would probably think of it as only nerves for being put on display again and perhaps perform if needed. It was foolish for her Diamond to even assume that, seeing that her Pearl was constantly taken to galas and gatherings. In actuality, it was because the last time she contacted her older sister, they were through words of spite.

Blue wasn't sure if her sister would be welcoming when she saw her again.

She didn't know why Rose seemed to be special towards White at all. She was brutish Quartz beside a delicate Pearl, who didn't even belong to her. Why would a warrior even have the time to pay mind to her sister?

Well, of course, her sister was undoubtedly lovely but Quartzes weren't ones to share words of kindness, only threats of bloodshed. White must've not known what she saying when she shared those secrets with Blue; Rose might've been pulling her strings the entire time.

Blue knew many types of Quartz—and none of them sparked any good memories.

She's even seen them tote around their Pearls around the several arenas and spires she's visited. Most elite Gems treat their pristine possessions with delicacy, barely touching them, constantly demanding them to dance for show, and only be harsh when their performances were unsatisfactory. Quartzes felt no need to be gentle, and roughly manhandled their Pearls, enjoying watching them squirm in pain and desperation. Some of them even used their Pearls to be practice punching bags, finding their meek defenseless cries amusing.

Blue had seen a lot from them and she was not ready to trust one to touch her again . . . especially not after what happened between her and that Amethyst.

She had even remembered seeing her new Pearl, freshly manufactured and freshly traumatized. Blue often saw Pearls be silent and nonreactive when it came to things outside their masters' wishes, but this one seemed to have that sort of mindset, even only a few cycles after her dismissal. She swore she once saw the Amethyst touch her Pearl in the same vulgar way she touched Blue herself.

Blue wished there was a way for her to call out to this younger Pearl, to let her know that this entire ordeal of mistreatment wasn't being ignored, but she couldn't.

Because she knew if she did, then both of them would have to suffer the consequences.

* * *

"Remember," Yellow Diamond intoned, leaning in close enough to her Pearl to make her breath feel more like a gust of wind. "This is your first presence at a gathering. One step out of place, and I won't hesitate to due out punishments. You already have shown a pleasing performance as a Pearl, now it's time to test it out in the open."

"I won't disappoint," Yellow responded, just as confidently as her master, despite her thoughts within saying otherwise. She is finally given the chance to see her sisters again and it was in the midst of two of them quarreling. How could she find time to please her master _and_ settle out the dispute between her sisters?

The spire that they entered was grand and boasted an ethereal kind of mystery, one that practically thrummed with vibrancy that you could feel within your gem. The hard work of the Bismuths was truly shown. Too bad that the Gems who erected it weren't even allowed inside, but as if the Diamonds would allow someone as unworthy as a Bismuth in a gathering of the most elite of Gem civilization.

Inside was where Yellow witnessed the four honorable Diamonds reunite.

White Diamond was just as imposing as her older sister described her to be, with the most intimidating eyes she had ever seen: black sclera with stark white pupils shaped like slivers of diamonds. Blue Diamond concealed her eyes with a lavish midnight blue cloak, but she shared the same pupils as her sisters. The magenta-skinned Pink Diamond was awe-inspiring as well, with smooth fluid limbs and a gown that revealed her gemstone on her navel.

As the Diamond Authority gathered to greet each other and celebrate the new colony's birth, their Pearls stood daintily beside them, appearing to be little more than dolls that bask in the shadow of their wondrous owners.

Yellow tried not to let the tears slip out of her eyes as she saw Blue before her eyes once again, when the last time they were able to share glances felt like eons ago.

Of course, the Diamonds demanded entertainment and their Pearls earned to please them.

Pink Diamond owned the oldest Pearl, which the rest of Authority members seemed to raise their eyebrows at. The top of the Homeworld hierarchy deserved the best and yet one of them settled for an almost ancient model. Yellow couldn't help but raise her eyebrow as well; for such an old Gem, the servant of Pink Diamond possessed the mindset of a newborn: eyes constantly darting around the room curiously, unable to be fixed to one point for very long and flinching as she wrung her hands together, almost anxious.

Blue nearly cracked a smile when she locked eyes with Yellow, but she had to hide it quickly, in order not to let their masters' notice. According to them, they weren't supposed to know each other and did not possess the liberty to acknowledge one another.

White seemed to be incredibly stiff when Yellow's gaze found her. Her unblinking eyes were set exclusively at her Diamond, as if tearing away from the line of sight or even blinking might shatter her. She didn't acknowledge Yellow or Blue in any way, which made Yellow's heart sink just a little, watching her sister be so cold towards them. Her hands were also clasped together permanently, stiff and immobile. Since when was White so focused on being the perfect Pearl?

Both Blue and Yellow tried to contain their overwhelming glee and nostalgia as the two of them were ordered to dance for their Diamond. Yellow tried not to let focus slip away from her as she twirled and dipped in a seductive, if not slightly promiscuous way. But her Diamond loved it and so did the rest of the Diamond Authority, so she discarded her pride for their amusement. After all, it was what Pearls did.

"Pearl," White Diamond commanded, looking to her servant. Yellow couldn't help but notice how her sister uncharacteristically lit up when her master called to her like it was a one-in-a-million moment. "I do ask you to show off your singing skills to the rest of my sisters. I believe the air has gone too silent without music."

White nodded obediently and opened her mouth to sing. Yellow remembered being taught how to sing at the training facility and how enthusiastic her older sister was about it, going out of her way to croon a little song when the instructors advised her not to, which earned her severe punishments and yet she still insisted on doing it. Singing was one of the few things White learned that she actually enjoyed doing.

But when White's voice spilled out of her throat was when Yellow's mind finally resurfaced from her fond remembering and nearly broke out of formation with her startling realization.

This was not White.

That was not her voice. Yellow knew how her sister sang and it was far more beautiful than that other Pearl could ever do.

This wasn't her sister, not the Pearl she knew so well.

It all made sense. No there was no other way to interpret it.

White would never look at her Diamond the way this Pearl did.

She would never stand the way this Pearl did.

She would never sing such a traditional and stifling song that didn't show just how limitless her captivating voice was.

Her voice wouldn't be so soft and gentle, instead it would be grand and prideful and even a bit mournful at times but never so plain and limited. She would sing loud enough for the entire spire to hear. But instead this other Pearl only vocalized loud enough for the four Diamonds and their Pearls to hear.

It was sickening to listen to.

The Diamonds smiled though, clapping politely when the song was over. Pink Pearl seemed to be entertained as well, but it was likely she was paying more attention to the statue that wasn't even all that remarkable compared to the song.

Luckily, Blue seemed to have made the realization as Yellow did. She stared at her sister with wide pleading eyes, not sure of what to do. Neither of them could speak to each other nor could they be able to look deeper into this without raising the suspicions of their Diamonds.

All they could do was to watch this disgrace of a Pearl take their beloved sister's place.

Somehow, Pink Diamond said the words both Blue and Yellow wanted so desperately to say. "Doesn't this Pearl look a lot more new than the others? You said that you ordered one the same time as Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond."

White Diamond merely shrugged in response. "I needed a replacement desperately. This one is much more pleasing in my eyes than the old one. I can't seem to find the right words to describe her performance in comparison to my older one."

All Blue and Yellow could do was stare in horror as they watched the Pearl that dared replace their sister grin smugly as she rewarded by her Diamond.

* * *

"What do you think?" White asked nervously once she finally emerged from her regeneration process. It was her first time doing so without a set of instructions to follow, a proper design to use. It took so long for her to finally make the decisions others made for her.

She chose to discard the monochromatic color scheme her master chose for her and instead replaced with a wider array with pastels: the soft orange-pink of the flowers Rose picked for her, the iridescent blue of the pale sky Rose showed her and the palest blush White could ever find. Her skin still remained the chalk white it had always been, however. But what was most liberating was finally getting rid of the stifling Diamond symbol she was forced to wear under White Diamond's control.

Well, not anymore.

"My opinion doesn't matter," Rose answered, cupping White's delicate face in her hands. "As long as you see it as fitting, it'll be fine by me. You were taking so long, I was afraid that you would never come out."

"Sorry," White said sheepishly, blushing cerulean, and her new eyes matched the color of her cheeks. "I wasn't used to not having a set of guidelines to follow."

"It's a shame that Pink would never be able to see it," Rose sighed. "I wish I didn't have to leave her behind with her Diamond."

"It's not your fault," White insisted, not wanting Rose's warm smile to ever falter. "We couldn't stay on Bellona for very long and you were needed elsewhere. Only I could follow, now that I'm free."

"It would be much harder to liberate Pink, but I should've tried," Rose said morosely, gazing at the floor. But when White almost expected her to cry, the Quartz looked up at her with a wide smile. "But we shouldn't have to worry about her. Pink is capable of watching herself. And we should be able to forge a new path now that you are free from your master's grasp. Now that you're so colorful, I believe that the name White isn't suitable anymore, is it?"

"It isn't?" White repeated, a bit dumbstruck. She knew she had to create a new form but a new name seemed to be even more confusing to figure out.

And her name was the only thing she had now that reminded her of her sisters. Even if she could never contact them now with her new life as Rose's companion, there were still things that couldn't help but latch onto, like her name.

"I think that since there is no need for your name to have any connection to your old Diamond, you should take the name of your gemstone, like everyone else," Rose suggested.

"So you're saying that I shall be called 'Pearl' from now on?" White asked, not sure how the new name sounded on her tongue. She had been called "White" for so long, it seemed like to would take forever to respond perfectly to this new one.

"Only if you believe so as well," Rose replied with a bright smile.

It had taken a while to mull over the decision but White eventually made her choice.

"I think that 'Pearl' is very fitting," the newly christened Gem said. "I need to make a new identity for myself, make my own voice. This should be the first step."

And with that, "Pearl" discarded the last thing that connected her to her sisters. In her mind, White was truly gone.

And there was need for her to ever return.


	21. Chapter 20: Dear Yellow

_Dear Yellow,_

 _All this time, I didn't think it would happen so soon. I thought she would survive a couple more years at least. I thought she would be able to take care of herself longer. But no, it actually happened._

 _Our sister White is really gone._

 _What happened to her is the first question I want to ask. Did White Diamond discover her defect? Did she slip up somehow? Or was it something completely unrelated to our past worries? Could she have just been too ancient of a model?_

 _But then again, if she was, we would have also been replaced._

 _The only thing I know now is that I despise that Pearl who has taken our sister's place. She and her shallow smile and dense voice and empty eyes; she who White Diamond wrongfully believed was better than our beloved White._

 _But she is not to blame. Neither is White Diamond either. They are both clueless witnesses to this tragedy and yet neither of them cares._

 _The real one to blame is me._

 _If I hadn't been so sickly jealous of Rose Quartz when I tried to warn White or attempted to be more civil instead of bitter, she might've listened to me. She might've been spared. Or maybe you and I were both wrong and no matter what either of us did, it would never control White Diamond's choices. Our efforts would never matter to a Diamond._

 _White is dead._

 _And worst of all, she died thinking nothing but contempt of me. And if it wasn't for my stubbornness, I would've been able to fix it. But it's too late. She died and now the bond between shall never be repaired._

 _If she was still alive, I might've been able to tell her that I was sorry._

 _And now I'll never be able to speak to her again._

 _Tearfully, Blue_

* * *

 _Dear Blue,_

 _I don't know what to do anymore. I'm trying to function as I did before but the memory of White keeps springing up whenever it would distract me the most. And now, it's affecting my efficiency as a Pearl._

 _If this keeps up, I might end up just the same as White._

 _I want to be mad at White. I want to blame only her for her downfall. But now that she is gone, I could never do such a thing. I can't bear thinking bad of her._

 _I already was a failure as a sister when she was alive. I can't get worst now that she is gone._

 _There are so many things I could've said to her. That she truly did deserve the title as the eldest sister. That no matter how much she infuriated me; she also provided me unimaginable happiness. And that joy she would give me when she alive is now gone forever._

 _I always imagined that her life might've ended up shorter than ours, judging from our efficiency as Pearls. But I always wanted to spend more time with her. Now that notion has been proven false._

 _There is an empty spot in our trio now, a void that can never be filled. It's just you and me now: the last of the Atheros sisterhood._

 _I miss her, Blue. I really miss her. I don't know what else to say._

 _I'm so sorry, I'm not sure if I can do this anymore._

 _Sincerely, Yellow_

* * *

Several years have gone by since White's departure. All those days seemed to have gone by in a blur. If it wasn't for Yellow's constant stream of letters asking for reassurance, Blue might've gone insane a long time ago from the loneliness.

Her Diamond was certainly not someone that could fill an empty space in Blue's life. She may have been grand and regal, surrounded by an air of elegance and high class that send the lowliest Peridot on their knees but she was no one's companion.

Speaking to her was almost a practiced art. There were so many things that could go wrong if you ever dared to interrupt her schedule that was something to avoid entirely for your own sake. And what felt worse was that Blue was tied to her for an eternity, forced to endure her aura of heart-stopping imposingness. Rarely was she allowed to move away from her Diamond's shadow to find a sort of relief from the immense stress of being the presence of such a perfect Gem.

It was also her status a Pearl that prevented her from finding any joy in her life as servitude. All the other Gems who weren't her master either sneered at her for her obvious role as a plaything for their superior or tried to violate and abuse her personal space to try and improve their own Pearls. She was beneath of all of them and had no right to call any of them her equal.

And those who she could call her equals weren't allowed to speak to her.

The letters between her and Yellow became almost a chore for them. Something to do when everything else in their life has become dull, an escape that only lasted for a few seconds at a time. Neither of them had any interesting stories to share nor did simply speaking about their emotions only led back to the topic of White: the sister they lost almost years ago. Their chain of letter ended up becoming a monotonous string of slipping sanity and growing apathy.

It felt like the first time in forever did Blue really did have something important to share with her sister.

* * *

 _Dear Yellow,_

 _My Diamond told me that there is a huge emergency on another colony. I am sure that you have already heard this because the immense scandal of this mess but if you haven't, I shall inform you now._

 _Pink Diamond has died._

 _I couldn't believe it either when I was alerted of this tragedy. We have both been taught that the Diamonds are infallible beings, nearly impossible to shatter and no Gem should ever dream of such treachery._

 _Well, it looks like someone has proven that wrong._

 _She was slayed by her own second-in-command, a Gem that was incredibly close to her, a Rose Quartz that was labeled Facet-1F94, Cut-2SU. She was once a loyal Quartz that now lost every right of her life when she betrayed her Diamond._

 _I had previously thought all Quartzes were incapable of such treachery. She has surprised not by only shattering a Diamond, but by being a Quartz who had plotted against her Diamond._

 _She is gathering up an army to rise up against the Diamond Authority. The colony might fall apart to her anarchy due to the lack of authority on the throne. My Diamond has advocated filling in that role and taking charge against the rebels who have committed regicide._

 _There is already a war commencing and I am forced to follow my Diamond down that path. And I don't know if I shall survive that stay on the unfinished colony that my Diamond has taken in at the last second._

 _If you desire to know, the colony is called Earth of the Crystal System._

 _I only wish that my blessed Diamond can destroy the rebels and their leader before their anarchy spread to the rest of Homeworld and reach you._

 _Wish me luck._

 _Sincerely, Blue_


	22. Chapter 21: Dear Yellow

_Dear Yellow,_

 _The first thing I thought of when I first stepped foot on the planet known as Earth was "Why would the rebels believe this place is so special?"_

 _It was not that different from all the other colonies I have visited while traveling with my Diamond. Same flora being gobbled up by small fauna only to be cruelly eaten by bigger and bigger creatures in an neverending cycle that only ends with the most merciless predator of all, same dome-like sky that shielded the land below from the endless void of space, same relatively primitive dominant race that didn't realize that their role in this world was absolutely meaningless when compared the honorable Diamond Authority; I couldn't see anything else that really stood out._

 _Perhaps the murderer of Pink Diamond simply wanted a convenient reason to ruthlessly betray her Diamond and decided that sacrificing her honor for such a meaningless rock felt like a heroic enough lie to fool all other Gems she hoped to gain as allies._

 _It was while I was stationed here on Earth that I finally learned the meaning of the word "rebellion." I heard other elites discuss it while they were preparing against possible enemy attacks._

 _It was a word used to describe acts of violence and anarchy for manipulative causes that are thought of as supposedly "righteous." The reason these Gems are now "rebelling" is because they refuse to believe that the Diamonds are the most powerful and infallible force in the universe. They want that title themselves and have decided the only way to gain that kind of power and loosen themselves from their utterly meaningless purposes in Homeworld society was to foolishly challenge their superiors so for once they can feel like they have strength and a righteous cause in their expendable life._

 _They refuse to accept their place and believe that the honorable Diamonds are unworthy of their power. The rebels who plague this potential colony filled with resources that can help the rest of Gem-kind are nothing more than violent selfish brutes that think that trying to hoard this planet for themselves would make them feel important._

 _I know almost nothing else about them. This is what they have told me and I have no other choice to accept it as truth. After all, if I choose to question it, then I will have gained that horrendous title as a "rebel."_

 _I only hope that I can make it out of here alive. I can't bear to leave you to live the rest of your life alone, Yellow._

 _Sincerely, Blue_

* * *

 _Dear Yellow,_

 _I have overheard more information on the rebels._

 _Blue Diamond has sent all the best diplomats in the Homeworld Empire to negotiate with the rebels but they refuse any kind of peace unless it guarantees the safety of the planet Earth. Even when Blue Diamond promised warfare if they do not step down, all the rebels did was brandish their weapons._

 _It's absolutely clear to me now: there will be a chance that I might die here._

 _Killing a Gem when it's not requested by the Diamond Authority is utter murder but not when it costs the life of a Pearl. Then it's simply a minor setback and the only person who would be distressed would be the Pearl's master and only because it meant that they would have to wait for another batch to be made._

 _If a rebel claims my life, it would be no one's burden but yours._

 _Please grant me some kind of hope, Yellow. You are the only one left who truly knows and loves me when everyone else views me as nothing more than the plaything of Blue Diamond._

 _Sincerely, Blue_

* * *

 _Dear Yellow,_

 _Before today, I only knew the name of the Rose Quartz that killed her Diamond. But now I have heard that she is gaining several recruits, mostly from the lower castes of Homeworld, foolishly trying to turn them from expendable laborers to warriors by shoving weapons in their hands and promising to rip them away from their rightful place in our society._

 _One of them is Bismuth who has decided to drop her tools so she can run around screaming at those she calls "Upper Crusts" and then try and pick fights with them. I believe she was part of the rebels who brandished their weapons after being threatened by the Diamonds._

 _I heard about a plethora of others as well but none of them seemed that important to me: a Snowflake Obsidian, a Lace Agate, a couple of Peridots, a couple of Jaspers._

 _But there was one that nearly made me lose my physical form when I heard of her._

 _One of the rebels is a Pearl._

 _I've only heard rumors passed between elites during gatherings and some of the stories don't match up but I've pieced together the basics._

 _A Pearl seemingly having no master to serve, deciding to take a pair of swords and become Rose Quartz's loyal second-in-command; she's one of the most prominent members of the rebels and often the one to shed the most blood during attacks. There are times where she even appears to be more famous than Rose Quartz herself._

 _I can scarcely believe it either._

 _I'm not sure what to believe anymore. All this time, they told me that Pearls were made for pleasure and decoration, pretty and delicate and obedient. Now one has stolen a pair of blades and has decided to break down those walls and free herself from ownership._

 _This renegade Pearl is a traitor, a rebel, an absolute disgrace in the eyes of the elite, perhaps the best example of a defective Pearl. I know that she plots the downfall of Homeworld society and is the second-in-command to a Gem who murdered Pink Diamond . . . but something about her almost seems familiar._

 _Sincerely, Blue_

* * *

 _Dear Yellow,_

 _What's worrying me even more lately is that now all elite Gems who own Pearls now look at their servants with suspicion._

 _More and more rumors spread about the renegade Pearl. I hear the scattered bits of conversation between elites and she is brought almost half the time._

" _I've seen her take on entire squadron of Carnelians by herself."_

" _There's no such thing as a Pearl with no master. She must've been adopted by Rose Quartz."_

" _She's the reason I refused to purchase a Pearl after I was offered one by the Diamond Authority."_

" _She tried to approach my Pearl once. I swear it almost looked like she was going to try and make her to turn to the rebels' side. After that happened, I couldn't stand to have my Pearl around anymore, in case she really was swayed by the renegade. It might sound a bit paranoid but I believe it's better to get rid of my most valuable possession than to be betrayed by it."_

" _She outright threatened to crack my gem when she and her team attacked a spire, intending to hold us hostage. Luckily, I managed to survive the whole ordeal but her voice still haunts me from time to time to the point where I have to make sure my own Pearl never utters a word in front of me. The two of them just sound so familiar. Eventually, I had to make sure I never had to see another Pearl's face again."_

 _I see Pearls everywhere trembling in fear, overhearing how paranoid their masters are becoming. I have no idea if my Diamond feels the same; she never participates in personal gossip and her face is a perpetual mask of apathy._

 _But for all I know, maybe my downfall won't be because of a rebel._

 _Sincerely, Blue_

* * *

 _Dear Yellow,_

 _It's so hard to write this letter. I've thrown out several drafts because I couldn't describe the event properly without breaking down into tears._

 _I can't seem to name this kind of emotion I'm feeling. I want to be angry but I also feel doubtful if it was really her. I want to cling to the faith that it wasn't her but I couldn't deny what unfolded before me. If it was true, I'm not sure whether to be relieved and happy or hurt and betrayed. All the grief and loneliness I've felt over the years have been nothing but a lie._

 _Perhaps I should stop being so hysterical and explain this to you._

 _It was supposed to be peaceful meeting with the Homeworld diplomats in the Cloud Arena. Blue Diamond had ordered one of her most faithful Sapphires to foretell the outcomes of the war. She informed us that the rebels will attack the Cloud Arena today and that the sources damaged would be easily replaced. It was supposed to unfold peacefully and end the Rebellion that has been plaguing the Earth colony._

 _But it came out oh-so-differently._

 _The war is still marching on and Rose Quartz remains whole and undefeated. But that's not what I'm so hysterical about._

 _I saw her, Yellow._

 _She's whole._

 _She's alive._

 _She escaped._

 _And she lied to us._

 _Our beloved sister White now belongs to Rose Quartz. She was never shattered by White Diamond. And now she wields a pair of swords and fights Quartzes, like she once fantasized in the training facility._

 _When I finally laid eyes on her again, she was poofing several Quartzes with only four strikes of her weapon and attempted to get rid of the Sapphire who prophesized the battle._

 _White later escaped the Arena with Rose Quartz afterwards, when the battle was foiled by a lowly Ruby who stepped out of line and fused with the Sapphire she was meant to guard. But that's not what I was worried about._

 _I don't care that White turned against Homeworld and became a Crystal Gem. I don't care that she is now damaging the image of all Pearls and might potentially cause many Pearls' downfalls._

 _What I do care about is that she stopped corresponding with us after escaping her old master's grasp. I care that she purposefully made us believe she died and made us suffer from illusionary grief for years. I care that she went off and bonded with the Rose Quartz who outright murdered Pink Diamond._

 _She replaced us, Yellow. She abandoned us._

 _She is no longer White anymore._

 _She's a traitor._

 _Sincerely, Blue_


	23. Chapter 22: Dear Yellow

It didn't take long until the stories of the Rebellion on Earth spread to the rest of the Homeworld Empire. The security around the Diamonds grew far tighter; they couldn't afford to lose another beloved leader. Even if all the Crystal Gems are situated on Earth, their successful uprisings might end up convincing other subordinate Gems to rebel, whether it was for Earth or not.

Now Yellow hardly ever found moments of peace. Everywhere she went, she heard snippets of gossip and stories about the Earth Rebellion. Some were farfetched and almost shameful; others were gruesome and starkly realistic. Reports spiraled around Homeworld, keeping up successes and failures of the Diamond Authority armada against the Crystal Gems (which seemed to have spiked up in failures) keeping Blue Diamond in contact with Yellow Diamond.

It almost made Yellow Pearl dizzy seeing how far the Crystal Gems have went; their infamy was notorious all around the galaxy, every Homeworld Gem whispered about it in small moments of solitude, from the most elite Quartz commander to the most insignificant Ruby.

But what popped up the most in conversations was the legendary Renegade Pearl.

 _She has to belong to Rose Quartz. She has to. Any rightful Pearl without a master would simply commit suicide._

 _She's not right in the gem. She's defective, the worst example of them yet. I hadn't realized how severe a Gem's defects can be, to even override their sense of servitude._

 _A Pearl holding any position above soldiers and working as second-in-command to Quartz is preposterous. Imagine what kind of world Rose Quartz in building amongst the Crystal Gems._

Yellow hears it almost daily, in the briefest of moments.

They describe her sister as a rogue, a dangerous killer, a complete animal.

No matter how many times she hears it and confirms it, it still didn't make sense to Yellow.

White could never hold a weapon in her hands. She would never think about destroying a Gem's physical form. She could never ally herself with a murderer.

But the evidence was far too overwhelming.

She sees pictures of her supposed sister, practically unrecognizable at this point. Wielding her famous swords, White has now completely discarded what made her White in the first place. She is now speckled with color, her hair now peachy pink, her eyes a bright turquoise, and her uniform a more graceful and elegant form of a fighter's outfit. She still keeps the sheer fabrics that Pearls were known for wearing, perhaps to let her enemies know that they have not only been defeated by a Crystal Gem, but also by a lowly Pearl.

When Yellow finds herself some private time (which grows rarer and rarer every cycle) she tries to reflect on what could have made her sister become this way, this horrid killer.

She thinks about Rose Quartz, the leader of the Rebellion, who White seems to have declared loyalty towards. She has read hundreds of reports detailing her undying loyalty towards her general, almost similar to a master, and hears about the millions of times she has risked her life almost recklessly for Rose.

The aimless loyalty was certainly quite reminiscent of her once elder sister. But Yellow found it hard to believe that White would be so stupid to fling herself into mortal peril for someone who was practically built to defend her and others. Her sister might not have been obedient but she was incredibly intelligent, too pragmatic to constantly throw herself in the way of danger.

It was too crazy to believe. But then again, wouldn't have the past White dreamed of being this way?

What if, all along, White had fantasized about poofing several Quartz soldiers with a swipe of her sword, dreamed about serving a cause that was outside of an elite Gem's desires, lusted for bloodshed and the excitement of war?

Yellow struggled to reawaken the memories of living with White and Blue in the facility. She remembered White ogling burly Quartzes who summoned weapons and asking numerous questions about them. She remembered White gazing out at the night sky and desiring to explore all the colonies Homeworld owned. She remembered White rolling her eyes when all the other Pearls ostracized her and saying that she never felt like she belonged as a servant by an elite's side.

Maybe all of this was a desire that White now fulfilled without her sisters. Now that she was feared throughout Homeworld, she would never need Blue or Yellow anymore. After all, they were mere Pearls who would faint at the idea of holding a sword. White was no longer a Pearl, she was now someone practically leagues above them, living out a fantasy with a beautiful silky-haired Rose Quartz as her new purpose. The thought of ever being equal to her sister now must disgust White, if she even still called herself that anymore. It was likely she stripped herself of everything that made her a Pearl, including the memory of her sisters.

The stories of the Renegade alarmed all elite Gems who owned Pearls greatly. It increased their brutal treatment of them and Yellow sometimes overheard them comparing their servants to the Renegade and not soon after shattering them out of sheer paranoia. Yellow would never know for sure, but she felt that now all newborn Pearls flinched at the name of the Renegade.

Hearing your master speak of her was a sure sign that you were going to be shattered the cycle after.

The letters shared between Blue and Yellow grew terse and sensitive, not knowing whether or not if the chain will be cut short or not. It stressed Yellow out immensely when she thought of her younger sister being caught in the crossfire of the war and dying at the hands of a brutish Crystal Gem.

* * *

 _Dear Yellow,_

 _The Crystal Gems don't seem to care who they poof during battle, they'll attack just about anybody if they bear the insignia of the Diamond Authority._

 _During an attack, before I was whisked away from danger, I saw Bismuth, a Gem who was made purely for architectural purposes, morph her hands into blades and began to attack anyone she approached, even if they were unarmed and didn't wish to provoke her. I saw her poof a Lapis Lazuli, who was too far from Earth's abundant bodies of water to defend her. She tried to fly away to safety but she was too late. And the entire time, the Bismuth wore a ruthless smile._

 _And it wasn't just her who was extremely dangerous. There are many significant Crystal Gems who are out purely for blood instead of freedom. They threaten to take the fight to Homeworld and destroy what was left of the Diamond Authority. Rose Quartz never seems to declare these ideals true but I'm scared. You might be put in danger as well._

 _Even if White herself never tries to harm a Pearl, that doesn't apply to every Crystal Gem. Maybe there might be a day where White decides to follow their vicious goals as well. After all, it's been proven that White is corruptible. Who knows how long we have before she snaps?_

 _Sincerely, Blue_

* * *

 _Dear Yellow,_

 _Blue Diamond is growing restless. We are desperate for troops and instead of showcasing her intolerance for failure as she normally would, she keeps the most defective and misshapen soldiers in her armies solely for the sake of resources. She now deeply clings to those who did come out right and saves their strength for important missions._

 _A Beta Kindergarten was built in a landscape of sandstone and arid weather. Those who popped out were often misshapen in strange ways and hardly qualified as proper Quartz. But there was one exception; a miracle that fit the Diamonds standards oh so perfectly; she was known as the Facet 9 Kindergarten Gem Who Could, surpassing the rest of her sisters in terms of strength and value. She knew Pink Diamond before her untimely demise and now swears to be the one to avenge her by shattering Rose Quartz._

 _There are times where I hope she lives up to that promise. I need this war to end already so I can come home in peace._

 _Sincerely, Blue_

* * *

 _Dear Yellow,_

 _Blue Diamond is not satisfied at all. No matter how far we outnumber them, no matter how superior our soldiers are, we can't seem to win._

 _Crystal Gems have claimed and destroyed several Gem-built structures and have taken several Homeworld soldiers and turned them into traitors just like them._

 _Sometimes I hear her muttering about unleashing something even more dastardly than her other attempts to finally destroy the Crystal Gems once and for all. It's supposed to be something reserved solely for horrid situations such as this and requires at least three Diamonds in order to activate. I actually believed she has spoken to your Diamond about it. She seems reluctant to do so but her hatred for Rose Quartz seems to fuel her determination to unleash it._

 _I don't know what it's supposed to do or what it would accomplish but apparently the name of such a weapon is called "Corruption." It's something incredibly dangerous that could have several consequences if gone wrong. But Blue Diamond is desperate to end this war and is now calling her other two sisters in order to punish Rose Quartz for what she's done. Once all the Crystal Gems are wasted, then the Earth would be able to finish its new purpose: to carry out another weapon that Homeworld seems to need. I only know of its name: the Cluster._

 _White would surely be punished by "Corruption" alongside Rose Quartz. A good sister would be frightened of the idea of her sister being targeted by some Diamond-owned weapon that might sorely backfire if not done correctly. But I genuinely believe since White no longer behaves like a good sister towards us then there's no reason to be a good sister to her._

 _Perhaps "Corruption" won't be such a bad thing after all._

 _Sincerely, Blue_


	24. Chapter 23: Dear White

It was all supposed to be over.

Blue hugged her knees to her chest as she found herself a private place to conceal herself within the escape ship, far away from the other boisterous Homeworld Gems that were celebrating a victory.

Pink Diamond was avenged and the Crystal Gems have become what they truly were: filthy animals. The fact that the supposedly infallible Gem race had fled from a perfectly potential colony and chose to abandon several resources their empire sorely needed never came up.

Blue was sickened by all of it: the celebrating, the obliviousness to what they have truly done, the cowardice disguised as salvation for the Gem race, the millions of victims they claimed, and the fact that she was amongst them and was supposed to be on their side.

For a moment, Blue even considered fighting her way out of the escape ship to plunge herself into suicide. At the time, that foolish choice felt better than being amongst these murderers who called themselves saviors.

The Diamonds were famed to be merciless, since that was what made them strong rulers, but Blue didn't know that they had such a power. And the fact that must've happened before made Blue feel even worse.

Before, she thought that the Crystal Gems were vicious radicals that had brainwashed her sister, but even after they had threatened her life time and time again, despite her status as a meek Pearl, she couldn't help but feel deep pity for them.

Seeing what "Corruption" truly did was the most horrid punishment Blue had ever witnessed. She had seen several other minor Gems get broken and harvested before her Diamond for insubordination but "Corruption" made all of that seem rather pleasant.

When you were harvested, you would at least not be able to feel the pain; the feeling similar to being in an eternal rest, peaceful and blissfully unaware.

Even death seemed to be a better alternative to becoming corrupted; getting shattered meant getting released from this cruel world and a flicker of yourself still remained inside you, even if it was fractured and barely cognizant. Plus, being inside a bubble prevented any other pain from befalling you.

"Corruption" meant living the rest of your life in endless pain and suffering. It meant losing everything that made you sane, made you feel whole, and replacing it with complete insanity. You became warped and twisted, barely reminiscent of your former self and trapped inside such a form forever. There was no way to communicate, to use your powers; even the ability to restrain yourself seemed to be stripped away from you.

When you were corrupted, all you knew was that you were a monster . . . that you used to be something sane and put-together . . . but no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't summon that former form of yours. All you had were fractured memories and the insatiable need to destroy, anything to end the pain that you were forced inside.

Earlier, Blue wished her sister was punished for betraying her. Back then, she had felt hurt and angry, that White had turned to a murderer and anarchist for support instead of her trustworthy sisters and had chosen to abandon her for a pair of swords and a planet that barely made sense. She didn't know what White, or the "Renegade Pearl" as the rest of Homeworld seemed to call her, saw in Rose Quartz, in Earth, and in warfare. She wanted her sister to contemplate what she had left behind and see how hurt she had made her.

But she didn't want this.

The sickening thought that White might be a mindless animal, that she might have truly forgotten everything about her, that at one point, Blue had even _wished that upon her_ , was too much for her.

Her sister had vanished a long time ago, but now she was really gone. White might not even be capable of remembering Blue now, let alone love her. Their sisterhood had been shattered forever now, with no hope of fixing it. White will now spend the rest of her life suffering for her crimes, but that didn't satisfy Blue at all. No one deserved that kind of eternal torment, not even someone who murdered Pink Diamond.

She wanted it to end. Blue wanted all the pain, the grief, and the trauma to just end already. She wanted to forget all of it. She had doomed her sister to suffer for eternity, but now all Blue wants it for her own suffering to cease.

Maybe if she forgets as well, she can finally get it to stop.

* * *

 **Several Millennia Later**

The Crystal Gems were absolutely unbreakable at this point. The Diamond Authority had been throwing everything they have at them: Corruption, the Cluster, their finest warriors. But they have again and again risen up and declared themselves to be unstoppable.

Yellow Diamond grows more and more restless every cycle. Her Pearl gives her the results after every single effort to wipe out the Crystal Gems and every attempt always ends up thwarted.

Yellow herself finds it slightly admirable. Her sister has been getting smarter after all these years. But it was also bittersweet, knowing that White would most likely never think of her to this day.

After spending many cycles contemplating the choice, Yellow finally decides to do it. It was foolish yes, and she knew that White would never be able to get the message anyways, so all practical excuses flew out the window. But Yellow didn't need this for White, she needed it for herself.

She needed closure.

And even though this will never get to White, she hoped that her older sister would soon realize how much impact had hit them ever since she had defected from Homeworld and chose to be amongst anarchists and traitors.

Yellow sighed, took out an ancient piece of parchment, which now seemed so primitive now that Era 2 was filled with such advanced technology, but it helped with the purpose of writing such a useless letter.

* * *

 _Dear White (if you even call yourself that anymore),_

 _It's been thousands of years since you have made your decision. Your decision to abandon everything you know for a Gem who audaciously murdered Pink Diamond, your decision to give up all those past hopes and desires to explore the galaxy and settle for such a diminutive planet, your decision to become greater than all the rest of us "uselessly pretty" Pearls and slay all superior Gems._

 _But I'm not bitter about any of that. I have had several years to cope._

 _Why I decided to write this is because you need to know something. You need to know how your actions have affected both me and Blue._

 _I don't contact Blue anymore. It's not out of spite, not out of apathy, but out of concern._

 _Ever since she had returned from the war, thankfully all in one piece, Blue had become everything a master expects from a Pearl. She is nothing more than an empty shell now; she refuses to speak and hardly acknowledges her surroundings anymore._

 _It's been millennia since I have last seen her beautiful smile. I'm not even sure if she is capable of moving her mouth._

 _I know it would be futile to send letters to her, knowing that she would never respond but it worries me. What has she seen in order to become this way? Did you ever cross paths with her? Were you involved with how she ended up this way? Would you even care?_

 _You have a new family now, one with misfit Gems who are most likely just like you and have given yourself a whole new title, Renegade Pearl. You clearly don't need us anymore, or perhaps the proper term would be "me" since I'm not sure if Blue even remembers._

 _Now Yellow Diamond wishes you dead and your beloved Rose Quartz has been replaced with an indescribable being that manages to be half-organic and half-Gem. Blue has become little more than a living corpse that slowly wishes to die and I have forgotten how all of this happened to us and where did it all begin?_

 _I hope you are happy with your choices and I hope that the memory of Blue and I still haunts you from time to time. I know it happens to me every single cycle._

 _Goodbye, sister, and this time that means forever._

 _Sincerely, Yellow_

* * *

 **A/N: And that's the end to the saga. I'm sorry if the ending seems too depressing and abrupt, but looking back on it, I never intended for this story to last for so long and for it to actually become popular. I can't wait for Blue Pearl to actually appear in the show again with voiced lines so I can get the confirmation whether or not she survived the war. Hope you'll find the time to check out my other stories!**


End file.
